Red Robin
by FlyinBison
Summary: When one of the Titans is compromised, Robin seeks vengeance alone. Old wounds from Gotham return, haunting Robin with his past. A painful story about identity. Based on the show and comic. Eventual shonen ai pairing. Comments or reviews appreciated.
1. Prelude: Up to Speed

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes:** Reviews welcomed and encouraged!

** Prelude: Up to Speed ****  
**  
For the past week the Titans had been tracking a string of heists across the city's banks and technology facilities. The perpetrators were clad in sophisticated black and red mechanical suits akin to a ninja's garb. They called themselves the "Akaishuen"—the "Red Death--" and they had escaped every time. Patience was wearing thin.

Luckily, after receiving a tip, the Titans were able to hinder their exit during the last robbery. They put up a great struggle; even Starfire was severely beaten, almost killed by an Akaishuen. He _would_ have killed her, had Robin not decked him into a wall. However, when the dust cleared, the Titans found that they had not been fighting men in suits, but robots; mindless automatons. After he saw this, Robin beat the contraption into an indiscernible pile of oil and smoldering circuits with his Bo staff. Just who was pulling the strings here?

After inspecting the motherboard of one of the androids, Cyborg recovered a serial number that he eventually tracked to an old mannequin warehouse on the east docks.

--------------------------------

The rain fell in steady sheets that night, but no one ever waits for good weather anymore.

"You gonna be alright?" Vic touched Robin's shoulder before they descended on the warehouse.

"Yeah, I'll be fine once that bastard Slade gets what's coming to him," Dick said coldly, "He hurt Kory and he's gonna pay for that."

"Heh. You really think you'll finally get to meet him, huh? What I want to know is how you can be so sure it's him?"

Even though Cyborg stood behind Robin, he could picture Robin's scowl darken. Dick's fist tightened and trembled at his side. _Who else could it be?_ Exasperated puffs of steam flowed out of his mouth and into the cool night air.

After a stiff silence, Cyborg eventually smirked and shook his head, "You know that 'serious-all-the-time –slash-hate' attitude is getting a little old. Can't be good for you, man."

"Whatever." Slowly, a smile crept over Robin's face, "You know, you're getting a little old."

"…shut up." Cyborg signaled the "all clear" to the others on the opposite side of the docks.


	2. Chapter 1: Deathstroke Part 1

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes:** Reviews welcomed and encouraged!  
**  
Chapter 1: Deathstroke- Part I**

"Titans, go!"

Suddenly, the Akaishuen androids were everywhere! They swarmed the team causing the Titans to split up. But that didn't matter, Dick knew as well as the others that they had been through much worse than this.

A bruise here; a gash there; injuries didn't matter. Slade was behind this. Slade was here…Robin could feel it and he would find the son of a bitch even if he had to rip every robot apart.

"Kory! " Robin leapt from the catwalk and landed on the back of an Akaishuen overwhelming Starfire. The robot swung around crazily blindsiding the young alien. "Starfire!" Hanging onto the automaton's shoulders, Robin managed to crack its steel skull open with his contracted staff. He pried the metal plate off and wrenched a fistful of hot wires out of its head. The red bird sprung away just as the shuttering machine fell sparking and convulsing to the floor. Black oil streamed down young man's cheeks and off his chin.

"Star, are you alright?" Robin propped the disoriented red head up, "I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't have let you come."

Starfire opened her emerald eyes, "Do not worry, I am fine, Robin." She began to dust herself off. Suddenly she gasped, "Oh my. Robin, your hand!"

Dick looked down at his palm and winced as if he had just noticed that the machine's hot wires had seared through his glove. Crimson blood and flesh peeked out of large open sores in his, now, charcoal skinned palm. "It's ok, Star. It's not as bad as it l—" All of the sudden, out of the corner of his eye, Robin caught sight of a silhouette of figure with a Tommie gun standing on the catwalk opposite them. "Get down!" He pulled Star behind some wooden crates just as bullets peppered the area.

"Hahahahahahaahaha!" An egotistical laugh echoed across the rafters of the warehouse. Dick's eyes widened. _That_ laugh…he knew that laugh! He would know it anywhere. Ever since he was nine years old he had never forgotten that arrogant snicker. _No, it couldn't be…It wasn't Slade but--_

"Zucco?" Robin felt his lips barely move, "Tony Zucco?" _What was he doing so far from Gotham?_

"You know this man? Please, kindly," Starfire heaved two star bolts at a mass of robots on the other side of the crates, "explain, Robin." When he didn't respond, Starfire repeated herself, "Robin?"

Dick shook his head as if to break himself from deep thought. He quickly began to rip a strip of fabric from his cape, "Hey, Cyborg! How we doin'?" Robin wrapped the cloth around his right hand, biting one end to tie the finishing knot.

Cyborg discharged his cannon, "Can't complain, Robbie! But then again," he paused to fire his arm cannon again, "things always get worse before they get better! Man where are all these guys comin' from?"

"Rawwwwar!" _Crash!_ Beast Boy's Tyrannosaurus bellow could be heard on the other side of the warehouse floor.

"Um…Cyborg?" Beast Boy switched back to human form and pointed to the wall he had crashed through, "Does this answer your question?"

"Oh man…hey Robbie, I think BB just crashed into their main manufacturing room! Get over here!"

Robin tried to peek out over the crates. _Ackackack!_ However, just as the top of his head started to creep above the boxes it was chased back behind them again by Zucco's Tommie gun.

"You stay down, bird boy!" Robin heard the metallic echoes of Zucco's hurried footsteps turn and run down the catwalk toward the exit.

"Damn, he's getting away," Robin turned to Starfire, "Cover me, Star!"

Starfire nodded and immediately began to hurl star bolts over the crates, clearing a path for him to run out onto the floor and deploy his grappling hook.

The door at the end of the catwalk was just closing when Robin reached the top. Kicking the door open, Dick found himself on the catwalk of the adjacent warehouse. Despite the commotion next door, this warehouse was eerily quiet. _Shit!_ Zucco's footsteps had stopped. _Where was he hiding now?_

Robin allowed the door to shut behind him so that his eyes could adjust to the darkness. No sooner did he do this when he heard movement to his left. _Crack! Pah!_ Just as Dick whipped around, he was struck by a blunt object and then kicked over the railing of the catwalk.

"Ahh!" Robin crashed through a wooden crate on the ground floor of the dark warehouse. Gasping, he struggled to regain his breath and get up quickly from the debris. _How could he have been so careless?_

All of the sudden there was a large, hollow snap of a switch being thrown and Dick was blinded by bright white stadium style lights. Looking up, he could barely make out the thin, washed out silhouettes of Akaishuen surrounding his prone body.

_Bang! Kapow!_ The blows seemingly came from out of nowhere and from everywhere all at once. Dick only managed to block perhaps one or two critical strikes. The following string of hits came so fast that he barely had time to fall to the ground

Finally, Zucco raised his hand and pulled back the vicious, metal mannequins. Robin spat out a short stream of blood then grit his teeth. _Come on. Come on, Robbie, get up. Damn it! GET UP!_ He could see the barrel of Zucco's large gun draw near as the crime lord walked up to stand over him. The crime lord ground his heel on the superhero's burnt right hand that was surreptitiously reaching for Robin's Birderang. "Uh!" Dick let out a small cry of pain.

"Time to die, kid," Zucco raised the barrel out of Robin's peripheral vision and cocked the gun.


	3. Chapter 1: Deathstroke Part2

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes:** Reviews welcomed and encouraged!

"Time to die, kid," Zucco raised the barrel out of Robin's peripheral vision and cocked the gun.

**Chapter 1: Deathstroke-Part II**

Then, without warning, everything went black. The bright lights, the Akaishuen, Zucco; Robin couldn't see a thing; all had been blotted out by darkness.

"Wha? How are you doing this?" Zucco's voice was almost a whisper.

"Azarath. Metrion…" A ghostly shadow rose slowly out of the floor next to Robin, draping its wings around him, "XINTHOS!"

When the dark veil disappeared a shower of android parts and fat oil droplets fell from the air, coating the ground black save for a clean, perfect circle that circumscribed them. Zucco's Tommie gun clip struck the floor, rolled, and hit Robin's foot.

"Robin, are you alright?" Raven knelt down and supported Dick against her lap. She brushed the hair out of his swollen eyes.

"Forget about me. I-I'll be ok." Robin coughed and tried to get up, "…Zucco he's…he's getting away." His legs collapsed under him. The two sank to the floor again

"Trust me, he won't get far. Here," Raven closed her eyes and waved a free hand over the length of his body and face, "let me heal you."

-----------------------------

"Damn it!" The crime lord lost his footing and slammed into a wooden crate. Whispering…he could swear he heard whispering or moaning behind him, "Who's there!" Zucco clutched his revolver with a trembling hand. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he timidly scrambled back up and continued to run frantically toward the exit, "What the hell was that thing!" A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the empty warehouse.

Miraculously, Tony Zucco found the stairs and managed to feel his way along the catwalk to a fire escape ladder. On the roof, Zucco noticed that the rain had lightened to a steady drizzle. "He said there would be a helicopter…where is the _helicopter?_" The crime lord crazily ran in several circles around the flooded roof top, searching the night sky for his promised escape.

Whispers. Zucco stopped in his tracks. He heard whispers again. "Who's there? Where are you?" He held out his shaking gun and frantically turned around several times.

Suddenly, there it was; the demon bird. Rising out of the cool dark water of the roof, the obsidian silhouette grew larger and larger even though Zucco emptied his revolver, point blank, square between its four red eyes.

With a spread of its dark wings Robin swooped out of the dark shadow cloak decking the crime lord in the face, instantly rendering him unconscious.

"This doesn't make any sense, Raven." Robin habitually knelt down checked Zucco's pulse, "You know, this bastard and I go a long way back."

"I do, Robin," Raven moved her gaze up from Zucco's body, "and I'm sorry"

"What?" Dick stood up and looked over his shoulder at Raven.

"This is the man who murdered your parents, isn't it?"

"How did you…" Robin whipped back around and talked to the ground in front of him, "I never…I've only told you guys that it was…"

"An accident? Yeah," Raven pushed off her hood, "But I've been inside your mind, remember? So I know that's not the truth. I know it was a little more complicated than that; that Zucco, a thug at the time, was hired by Two Face to kill them after the circus refused to be extorted by him."

"Raven, I…the others...do they…" Dick trailed off. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The full moon peeked out from behind the dark storm clouds.

"No, only I know."

"Good." Dick scowled at the ground, "It _was_ an accident, though."

"Dick…"

"What Zucco did…what happened…it _shouldn't_ have happened."

"Dick, I highly doubt that you could have—"

"Raven! Please…" Dick closed his eyes. A flicker of lightning traced the outline of clouds not so far off. A grumble of thunder soon followed.

-----------------------------

"Booyah!" Cyborg astride galloping-mammoth-Beast Boy blasted his plasma cannon at full power left and right. Throngs of Akaishuen were sent clear across the warehouse floor. A mass even crashed through a wall and into the adjacent warehouse.

"Ok, that should be the last of them." Beast Boy dusted off his gloves.

"Yes! We have triumphed over the automated warriors of anger!" Starfire beamed brightly , "Now where are Robin and friend Raven? They must join us in our hour of victory!"

"Good question," Cyborg glanced around, "Where did those two go?" Vic clicked his communicator onto send, "Robin, Raven, this is Cyborg, do you copy? Over."

_Static. Click!_

"Robin. Raven. Do you copy?"

_Hiss! Click!_

"Cyborg," Starfire tapped Vic on the shoulder, "do you hear that? I believe there is noise coming from over there." She pointed over to the debris of the walls in between their current location and the adjacent warehouse.

"I'm on it," with a hop, Beast Boy morphed into a small, green mouse and scampered into the debris heap. A little while later a large gopher burrowed out of the rubble, "It's just Robin's communicator." Human form Beast Boy fished the banged up contraption out of the rubble and dusted it off.

"Hmm. Well how do you like that?" Cyborg began to glance around the warehouse floor, "Looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." He switched his cybernetic eye to pick up heat emissions.

"Oh my God…" Cyborg gapsed. The area just beyond the rubble lit up like a Christmas tree! Swarms of newly activated Akaishuen were breaking out of wooden crates and heading their way. The neighboring warehouse must have been used for storage. "Hey, guys, heads up! We got more company comin'!" His arm transformed into a plasma cannon, "Just the way we like 'em too," Cyborg fired over the debris heap, "fresh out of the box!"

-----------------------------

On the roof, rain drops began to pitter patter against the skylights in a steady rhythm. After a moment, Robin spoke up again, "But if you know that much about what happened, then you must also be aware that this isn't Zucco's style." He turned to face Raven, "Drugs, prostitutes…murder; yes. But robots? No. Bastard's not smart enough." Robin began to pace a little. He briefly inspected his ghostly reflection on the skylight, "He had to have been in on this with some one else.

"Rob-in. Ra-en. Do you copy?" Cyborg's voice frizzled over Raven's radio.

Robin touched his utility belt only to find that he had lost his communicator, "Well," Dick turned back around to face Raven once more, "we better secure Zucco and then go back to help the oth—

_Crash!_ Suddenly, an Akaishuen smashed through the skylight behind Robin, grabbed him, and pulled him back through the glass pane into dark the warehouse below.

"Robin!" Raven reached out in vain.

The metal mannequin gripped the red bird tightly, preventing him from accessing his grappling hook. Luckily, during the free fall, Dick managed to keep the machine between himself and the ground. The robot fragmented on impact with the warehouse floor.

"Ugh!" Robin groaned. Getting up he found himself amid large, jagged pieces of glass; each individually suspended in dark shadow. He looked up and couldn't help but smile this time. Where would he be without that telepath?

All of the sudden, Raven turned around too face something behind her on the roof. The shards of glass were abruptly disengaged from their dark suspension, shattering as they struck the ground. Other Akaishuen must have reached the rooftop. "Raven!"

_Bang!_ A metal fist broke through a wooden crate. Robin whipped his head around, quickly surveying the warehouse. He suddenly found himself encircled by hundreds of Akaishuen! _How and who had activated them!_

The circle closed in on Robin as the mass of robots began to mob him with their sharp metal claws. Thinking fast, Dick deployed his grappling hook, pulling himself out of the dog pile along with an Akaishuen still clinging to his ankle. He promptly kicked the metal mannequin off and dropped a flurry of explosive discs behind himself before any of the Akaishuen could utilize their rocket boots.

Dick swung his legs just as he reached the top of the shattered skylight so as to propel himself over its frame and back onto the roof. In the midst of this a firm hand from above grabbed him around the neck while another grabbed him across the shoulder, choking him as it brought him to the rooftop.

Despite all his struggling, Robin couldn't get out of the iron clad choke hold. He felt himself being lifted above the ground and pressed against the mysterious figure's body. His kicking legs were locked by the culprit's legs. Dick could feel his captor's hot breath on his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zucco's body motionless and face down on the roof where he had fallen.

"Watch closely, Robin," his captor hissed in his ear. The choking hand locked onto Robin's jaw, forcing him to look straight ahead at Raven staving off several Akaishuen. The hand across Dick's shoulder fell away and out of his peripheral vision. When it reappeared it held out a dark gun aimed directly at Raven. Dick struggled furiously and tried to shout out to her. But he couldn't. He was still subdued even when his captor was using only one hand to strangle him. His eyes began to tear.

Then, suddenly, Robin felt a shard of glass caught in his cape. He gripped it with one of his flailing hands and stabbed his captor in the leg. A gasp of air! "Raven!"

Raven whipped around.

_Bang!_

Raven's wide eyes; the fluttering of her dark cape; everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Raven once told Dick that they had shared a bond; that they had a link. He never fully believed that. Not until that night when he felt Raven's mind tear apart.

-----------------------------

"Robin?" Beast Boy came up the warehouse ladder, "Are you up h--…Oh man…"

The rest of the Titans found Robin rocking back and forth, cradling Raven's limp body in a growing, dark crimson pool. His body shook with tears as frantic hands ran their trembling fingertips through her hair over and over; trying to make it soft like it was before. But he couldn't. The blood was just too thick.


	4. Chapter 2: Mourning

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes:** Reviews welcomed and encouraged!

"Ready, Ricky?"

When Dick looked up, he found himself on the edge of a groaning, wooden plank. Who was calling him "Ricky?" People had stopped calling him that a long time ago. The lights were bright and Dick could barely focus on the outlines of—

_Snap!_ The platform under Robin's feet splintered into millions of pieces. Falling headlong out of the light, he was enveloped into complete darkness. As the wind whistled passed him, he began to wonder if he'd ever reach the bottom of wherever he was.

Suddenly, a swooping searchlight beam flickered across the stage floor rushing to meet him. Robin blacked out when he struck the ground. The last thing he was aware of before he lost complete consciousness was the dark rain drenching him and dripping off the thin, sagging, telephone wires overhead. Was it really rain? Or was it something else?

"Robin…" a soft voice pulled him into consciousness, once again.

"Raven?" Dick slowly opened his eyes. When his eyes focused on Raven, he gasped as black horror constricted around his heart.

Her naked, dismembered body parts were strewn randomly across the now brightly lit stage. Bright red blood was everywhere! Her head lay next to Robin; its eyes staring back at him; the mouth was bloody and moved as if to speak, "Robin…"

**Chapter 2: Mo(u)rning**

"Raven!" Robin shot up from the desk crowded with papers and evidence. Security footage from the east docks flickered on black and white monitors in front of him. He was facing a screen playing video feed from the rooftop in a loop when he had fallen asleep. His right hand clutched Raven's enameled broach.

Robin's palm stung as he drew it across his face. He pressed it against his mouth as he tried to settle his breathe, again.

Bleeding. After he had brought his breath under control, he noticed that a gash above his eyebrow and his burned right hand were bleeding once more. Robin's eyes widened.

"You know, you really should get some rest." Cyborg's voice came from the open door way. Dick turned and squinted at the bright light that poured in from the corridor."

"Yes," Starfire scurried out from behind Cyborg with a tray of breakfast food complete with a decorative orange carnation in a cup. On closer inspection, it appeared that a dog dish with waffles was in the center of the tray, "we are sorry to disturb you but you must eat something!"

Robin turned back around, "Not now, Star!" He snapped.

Kory stopped in her tracks, a frightened look on her face.

Seeing this Robin's face relaxed from its tense contortion, "Thank you, but I've got a lot of work to do."

"Robin…your wounds; they were not there before." Starfire peeped.

"Man," Cyborg piped up again, "you've been working for 3 days straight, now. A guy can take only so much you know? _I_ even stopped after 2 days and I'm part machine."

Dick kept his back turned and shook his head at the floor and spoke distantly, "I can't stop. My body won't let me. Haven't been able to sleep very well so, why should I be wasting my time trying to sleep when I could be working? Anyway, how can I sleep when Raven's l—"

"Absolutely fine." Vic interrupted, "She's been stable for 2 days. I just convinced the docs to release her to the Tower infirmary last night."

"No, Vic," Robin turned to face them and held out his wounded hand, "She's losing!"

"You don't know that." Cyborg looked down, "Her vitals are stable. And you know she has healing powers. She's probably healing herself as we speak. You'll see. She'll be back on her feet in no time."

"No. No." Dick's face contoured into a painful expression, "You and I both know that she'll never be the same." Robin took a step forward, "Look, Vic! Raven healed me after I got this burn…I didn't have it at the hospital or when I came back to the Tower…but just now my wounds have reopened. That never happens. Not unless some thing is wrong."

"Please!" Starfire said firmly, "Stop! I do not wish to hear this anymore! You are not the only one who cares for her! And I do not see how doubting her healing is helping her. Besides, you cannot help her effectively in the state that you are in now! Dick, you need not work alone!"

"Star…" Robin stared back at the monitors for a moment.

"Robbie…" Cyborg broke the silence, "Enough is enough. I must have watched those tapes a hundred times, myself. You can't see shit with the resolution of those tapes. But from what I _could_ see, there was no one else up there except you, Raven, Zucco, and the other Akaishuen."

"No…it can't…look!" Robin pointed at the corner of one of the monitors, "When I was struggling with Zucco's accomplice, we're cut out of the screen! Can't you see him!" After a moment of silence, Dick lowered his head, "You think I just made it up, don't you? You think I strangled myself?"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Cyborg scoffed.

"Vic!" Star shot an angry glance at Cyborg.

"Sorry. I didn't mean that." Cyborg looked Robin in the eye "But believe me. I know that losing someone in front of you makes you do and remember strange things to cope."

Dick shook his head, "You're wrong, Vic." Robin touched his bruised neck, "There was someone else there."

"Whatever. If it helps you, you can believe what you want. As far as I'm concerned we got him. Zucco confessed to the shooting yesterday afternoon after ballistics matched the bullet with his revolver."

"No…" Robin felt his knees give out. He crumpled to the floor, staring at something non existent, "It can't be…"

**Authors notes:** Sorry for the boring chapter(s). I'll try to make it up to you within the next few.


	5. Chapter 3: Double Vision

**Disclaimer:** Any similarities between other fan fic plots or characters are completely coincidental. Please don't sue me.

**Author's notes:** Happy Halloween! Reviews welcomed and encouraged!**  
**

**Chapter 3: Double Vision**

_(The next night…)_

Breathing hard Robin ran into his small bathroom and shut the door, locking it behind him. His hands shook as he tore open the evidence bag that held Zucco's gun and bullets. The bullets pinged as they spilled out onto the floor. One by one he picked them up and shoved them into gun.

_Useless! Completely useless!_ Vic was right; Robin couldn't see anything worth a damn in those tapes. _Nothing!_ He had completely nothing! After the raid on the warehouse, everything had died down. No word on the streets. No rumors. Nothing! It was as if it never happened. _ Did it really happen? Maybe it didn't really happen. _ Maybe it was like that time he faced down a mechanical Slade at the chemical factory. When he had finally got his hands on whom he thought was Slade, the thing detonated and covered him in a thick chemical reagent dust. Horridly intense and tortureous hallucinations of Slade ripped through Dick's mind during the long month that followed. Fortunately, Raven was eventually able to enter his broken mind and pull him out of the psychosis. _Maybe it wasn't real...this isn't real! Maybe this was all a hallucination, again. Maybe…maybe…No! _Dick wished that were the truth. But, although Raven had been unable to erase the scars of his mind he knew better.

Robin had nothing. Everything he ever had cared about was taken away from him; _right_ in front of him. ... _They always make you watch…_ He couldn't save his parents. He almost lost Barbra before he left Gotham. And now he couldn't save Raven. He couldn't save anything!

_What's worse_… Robin cocked the fully loaded gun. _What's worse is that this was all his fault...his fault!_

Dick jammed the barrel of the gun against his temple. He squeezed his eyes shut and sank down to the cool tiled floor. His fingers curled around the trigger. _Worthless…_

Just as his hand began to squeeze…his fingers suddenly locked up!

Robin snapped his eyes open. Someone was controlling his hand, forcing it backwards! All of the sudden, Raven's silhouette flashed in front of him. "Raven?" Dick's fingers let go of the gun. The butt of the revolver hit the floor causing it to discharge. The bullet grazed his cheek and took out the bathroom light, sending them into darkness.

_Scratch! Scratch!_ The sound of a wooden match striking against a rough surface reached Dick's ears. Raven was close. He could feel her kneeling in front of him. Suddenly the match burst forth with flame! Raven was so near to him. Her breath was ice cold. It hurt to breath

Robin's chest heaved as his breathing became labored. Calmly, Raven held the match to the side and began to slowly lean into him as if to whisper in his ear. The flame went out just as her cheek touched his. Dick's body grew tense when he felt her heart beat against his chest in the same rhythem. He held his breath.

All of the sudden there was a flash! Without warning, Dick was bombarded with images of Raven as a child in Azeurath, a red demon, a white cape, Robin and her first meeting…_These are her memories..._Then…the incident on the rooftop of the warehouse.

"Raven!" Robin saw himself call out to his perspective as Raven. The point of view whipped around. Everything slowed down for a moment. For a split second he saw himself struggling with tall dark figure in a trench coat. Robin squinted. He could barely make out his captor's face. Then everything clicked! Dick gasped. The split, two toned face…it was…it was…no…it couldn't be… the man who had taken everything from him before…_Two Face?_

_Bang! _Before Dick could get a better look the gun muzzled flashed and it was all over.

_Bang! Bang! _"Robin!" Starfire pounded on the door, "Are you all right! We heard a gun discharge!"

Robin found himself in a cold sweat on the bathroom floor. A spent match stick smoldered by his toes.

**Author's notes:** I admit this is quite a short chapter. Smaller pieces seem to make things more managable, but are things going too slow? Would it be better to have more things happen even thought the chapters may be much longer? Also you may have noticed I've had Robin not having met Slade yet, though I make allusions to "Haunted" from Season 3. I hope this use of artistic license is ok with you all. Please comment! Coz i clearly have no idea what I'm doing...heh


	6. Chapter 4: Solitary Confinement

**Disclaimer:** Any similarities between other fan fic plots or characters are completely coincidental. Please don't sue me.

**Author's notes:** Sorry for the late chapter, guys, things just kept coming up! To make up for it this is a bit longer chapter and I'll try to post the next chapter soon. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: Solitary Confinement**

Starfire poked her head into Robin's dimly lit room. Despite Dick's almost obsessive compulsive tendencies for the neat and orderly, the room was a shambles. The twisted sheets on the bed spoke of uncountable restless nights; one of Robin's tattered costumes lay crumpled in a heap at the foot of the bed; among piles of clothes, papers and photographs like the ones found in Robin's study were scattered across the carpet. A few of the photographs had scrawled handwriting in the margins.

Starfire picked up a dog eared one at her feet. It was an enlarged, frozen image from the warehouse surveillance tapes. The green-eyed alien squinted at the grainy photo for a moment. She could barely make out Robin's figure struggling in a dark corner on the roof. Kory tried to gently straighten out the crinkled corner of the picture with her fingertips.

In the middle of the mess, Robin packed quickly, throwing items into an open knapsack at the head of his bed.

"Why," Starfire crept into the room and stood behind Robin, "where are you going?"

At the sound of her voice, Robin initially stopped packing. With his back still toward her, he lowered his head for a moment. _Starfire…what is she doing up so early?_

"They're transporting Zucco back to Gotham Pen today." Dick began to pack again, "I'm going to help with the transfer."

Kory blinked innocently several times and stopped fiddling with the photography. "Must you pack? Does not such a trip require only half of a day to go to and from Gotham?" The corner of the photograph slowly curled back to its crumpled state. "Is the journey so arduous? Perhaps I can be of assistance and accompany you."

_Should I tell you what Raven showed me? Would you believe me? _"Starfire," Robin suddenly turned and took a step toward her, "Kory…do you see him?" He pointed to the photo and peered into her emerald eyes. Kory took a step back and came up against the wall.

"Robin…I," Starfire looked down at the grainy photo. Strangely, the clearest thing on it was Robin's face strained and screaming with horror, "I…" her eyes softened, "…I am sorry…but..."

_Guess not. _Stiffly, Robin turned back around and began to pack again. "I've got some friends in Gotham." Robin said as stoically as he could, "Haven't seen them in a while, so I thought that since I was in the neighborhood I'd pay them a visit." _Please no more questions. I know you can see right through me but…just go! Please, it hurts to see you cry…_

"Robin," Starfire sat down on the corner of the mattress. "I do not believe that now is the best time for you to leave. My father told me that a leader is most needed in times of crisis. We are a team and you are our leader. We need you most now. Please stay…"

_Oh no. Please, don't say it…_

"…if not for the others…then …"

_I'll give anything for you not to say it!_

"…then for me for I am afraid if you leave…I will miss you."

When Starfire finished, she realized that Robin had stopped packing again, his head was lowered and his dark hair fell into his eyes. In the awkward silence that followed, a dark smirk slowly spread across his face. "You shouldn't really, Kory, because I'm not worth it. I'm a worthless dog."

"No…Robin," Kory got up and touched Dick on the shoulder, "you're—"

"You see," He continued, his mouth moved slowly, almost gently articulating the words, "I love her."

Starfire's hand dropped off his shoulder. She backed towards the door with wide, trembling eyes.

"Batgirl…Barbra, that is. She and I have been seeing each other for a while now." _Just hate me, Kory! Hate me! It'll make it easier_. He took a step toward her, "I'm sorry…I should have told you. Didn't you ever wonder who I calling every other day?"

_Smack!_ Kory's hand flew across Dick's face slapping him once, then twice. He kept his head turned and only heard her run out of the room.

_Now, that wasn't so hard now was it, Kory?_

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"Come on now," Vic knelt down to the whining, green dog under Raven's hospital bed, "Come on out of there, BB. It's time to eat and I know you're hungry. I even made your tofu pancakes and put 'em in your doggie dish."

Timidly, with his droopy ears and tail, the green hound crept out from underneath the bed. He cautiously sniffed the food, glanced up at Cyborg, and then, after a final sniff, began to eat furiously.

"That's a good boy," Cyborg watched Beast Boy's tail wag slowly as he scratched the dog behind the ears.

"What's up with him?" Robin's came from behind Cyborg.

"Why, aren't we the early riser?" Cyborg stopped petting the dog's head and stood up. Having finished his food, Beast Boy retreated back under Raven's bed and began to whine again. "BB's been this way ever since we got back from the emergency room…poor kid won't stop whining…" Vic turned to face Robin, immediately noticing the fat knapsack at Dick's side, "Going some where, I see. When you coming back?"

"I don't know…I'm not sure…" Dick stepped up to the side of Raven's bed not looking at Cyborg standing three inches to his left. He gripped the railing on the hospital bed, "You can take care of things around here while I'm gone, right?" Although the bandages covered her eyes he brushed the hair out of them. Dick squeezed her hand.

Why not?" Vic scoffed as he stepped around Robin and placed the clipboard back in the holder at the end of Raven's bed, "I always end up doing everything for you anyways."

Dick didn't say anything. Did he hear Cyborg's last comment? Or had he chosen to hold his tongue and ignore it?

Without taking his eyes off Raven Dick said flatly, "Good." He squeezed Raven's hand once more, kissed her on the forehead, and then stepped away from the bed. Cyborg closed his eyes and tightened his jaw.

The automatic doors closed behind Dick with a swish.

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Outside, the wind was brisk. The skyline was trimmed with a silver lining as the dawn set in. In full costume, Robin revved his motorcycle. He didn't hear or see Starfire who had come out, though hesitantly, onto the drive. Even after what he said to her, she still couldn't bare the thought of Robin leaving without someone to see him off.

Just as she was about to shout out to Dick, Cyborg's hand stopped her, "Let him go, Kory."

"But I do not wish for us to be mad at each other forever." Starfire pleaded as Dick revved his engine once more then sped down the driveway.

"Don't worry, he probably didn't mean whatever he had said to you. He's just putting himself in a place where he's most comfortable, is all. We all do it. Kinda like how Beast Boy has stayed a whining dog for the past several days now."

"But I do not understand. How can anyone be most comfortable alone?"

Starfire and Cyborg watched Robin's figure grow small in the distance.

**Author's notes:** To tell the truth, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter. Sorry for all the dialog lately. Hope I didn't bore you to death with my attempt to get it all done in one final swoop. I do I hope to pick things up in the coming chapters (and yes, I'm trying as fast as possible to get to the shonen-ai pairing)…teeheehee…stay tuned…and as always reviews wanted and appreciated!


	7. Chapter 5: Demons

**Disclaimer:** Any similarities between other fan fic plots or characters are completely coincidental. Please don't sue me.

**Author's notes**: The scene below with Two-Face is _loosely_ based off of an event from the original comics: Robin: Year One (2000-2001) by Chuck Dixon, Javier Pulido and Robert Campanella. I haven't gotten to read any of these (tho I hope to) so I'm not sure how similar the scene is to my retelling. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a slightly longer Thanksgiving entry! Enjoy and please review!

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"Hey, this is Barbara! Sorry I missed your call. Just leave your name and number after the beep and I'll get back to you when I can. Byeee!"

"Hey, Babs, it's me," Robin stooped his shoulders and leaned over the gas station pay phone, "Sorry I haven't called in a couple days….some… things just came up. Anyway, we've only stopped for a moment so I don't have much time." Dick peeked around the corner at the transport caravan filling up at the first pump, "But I'd thought I'd give you a call and let you know I'll be in the area a little later tonight…actually it might be really late…heh…thought I'd surprise you but…you know how I am with surprises. Ah who am I kidding…I just need to see you."

_Click!_ "—et the machine get it." The end of a woman's sentence broke the silence at the other end of the line. Dick's ears perked up at the mere whisper of her sweet voice. A smile spread across his lips. She did always whisper to him whenever he pressed her flat against the bed sheets.

"Why, how thoughtful of you to call, Master Dick," the British accent was unmistakable.

"Alfred?" Dick said slowly, "What the hell are you doing at Bab's place? I didn't misdial did I?"

"Not at all, Master Dick. I am simply here to escort Miss Gordon to Master Bruce's annual charity ball tonight."

"Right, it is that time of year, isn't it," Robin mumbled half to himself. It was odd though. Barbara wasn't really one for attending formal occasions. When they had first started dating, he had to beat her in an Aikido match before she would go to the prom with him. God, she was so cute! Whatever the case, Bruce must have been gotten desperate for attendance at the ball and bribed her with something big.

Dick shook his head then chuckled. Things hadn't changed one bit since he had left, "So you're finally moving in on my territory, huh?"

"Yes, Master Dick. Despite you're rather frequent phone calls and intermittent visits, Miss Gordon could not resist the charm of my," Alfred cleared his throat, "superior British vitality and prowess."

"British prowess, huh?" Dick's grin widened, "Well, why don't you put her on the phone so I can ask how good it is myself?"

"I'm sorry, Master Dick, but Miss Gordon is currently occupied. However, I will certainly deliver your message to her."

"Thanks, Alfred."

"Is there anything else that I can do for you, sir?"

"Not really…well uh…actually…tell her," Dick ran his fingers through his hair, "that I uh…that I've missed her and that I…I lo— actually, you know what? Forget it. It'd probably better if I told her in person." Robin peeked around the attendant's station again. The transport van sat idol, its gas tank having been filled for awhile now.

To his right he heard the guards come out of the mini mart and begin mounting their motorcycles. "Crap, I gotta go! I'll see ya late tonight." Robin hung up.

**Chapter 5**: **Demons**

_(Several years ago…Robin: First year…)_

_Mr. Wayne, how could you?_ Dick gritted his teeth. With the use of his grappling hook, the young Robin leapt across the roof tops. All along, Batman had known that Two Face was the true man behind his parents' death; not that pawn Zucco. He knew how much it would have meant to Dick to have known this, but he had selfishly kept it secret from Dick. So when the Gotham DA had been kidnapped by Two Face, Batman chose to keep that case a secret as well. It was ridiculous! _Alfred _had to tell him the truth. _We're supposed to be a team!_

Reaching the shipping port, Robin alighted to the top of a nearby freight container. Peeking over the metal containers, Robin's eyes widened. Batman and the kidnapped D.A. hung, bound and gagged, back to back in a wooden contraption riddled with pulleys and rope. The entire monstrosity was made out of black, rotting wood and raised on a platform near the stern of a docked freight ship. It looked almost like a medieval gallows except the platform had been constructed on the edge of a ship's deck, several yards above the dark waters of Gotham Bay. "Batman…" Robin whispered.

"Tell me, Batman? How does it feel?" Two-Face smirked smugly, "To have your life balancing on the double edged sword of blind fate?" Batman's eyes narrowed.

"If he could talk, I'm sure he'd say it feels a lot like this!" Robin swooped down from the helm, his fist connecting perfectly with Two Face's jaw. Harvey Dent fell and slid across the deck. "Hang on, guys!" Dick threw a batarang at the ropes on the contraption to free them. The batarang spun through the air in an uneven arc, cutting Batman's rope but missing the DA's. Batman slammed onto the platform, he struggled furiously and tried to shout through his cloth gag. The rope tied to him fell in a heap by his head and began to quickly dwindle in size.

_Clink!_ The batarang bounced off the deck and skidded to an area near the gallows.

"Dang it!" Robin's mind raced, "When I can, I'll have to throw another. At least Batman is safe."

Two Face's body trembled with a dark chuckle. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his suit sleeve and slowly got up. "Well, now, what do we have here? Getting into little boys now, are we, Batman?" Two Face's gravelly voice reached Robin's ears, "Young one aren't you? You really should be in bed by now, little boy." Robin whipped around. As Two Face stepped into the yellow light of the dock's lamps a small gasp escaped the young Robin's lungs. The right half of Mr. Dent's face was normal but the other half was blistered and scalely as if it had been severely burned. The former DA's eye was sickly yellow and bulging almost sagging out of its socket. The left side of the thin red lips that smiled evilly at him was sagging and the tissue was barely there; hardly covering Two-Face's dark yellow teeth. Robin took a few steps back as Dent's shadow began to envelope him.

"What is it? Is there something on my face that troubles you?" He crept closer to the wide eyed boy.

"Robin!" Finally Batman had managed to wriggle his mouth free from the constraints of the gag, "The rope! It's a double trap! Dent is obsessed with the number two! Grab the rope! Or the D.A. is going to die! Robin!"

Breaking the iron gaze of Two Face's yellow eye, Robin quickly traced the shrinking coil of rope that had fallen near Batman. The end of the cord flailed rapidly through the pulleys as he raced across the deck and slid to catch it. However, just as his palms closed around the cord, Two Face's hands were on him! Dent pulled the boy back, causing the rope to slip between his fingers. "No!"

"Sorry, kid," Two Face scolded, taking Robin by the scruff of his cape, "you've made your choice. Now you'll just have to die with it!" With that, he hurled the small boy against the iron mast of the ship.

"Robin!" Batman struggled harder against his lashings to no avail.

In between his coughs for air, Robin heard the rope whip through the last pulley. _Bang!_ The DA slammed onto the groaning wooden platform and was knocked unconscious. Still gasping, Robin gathered himself on his hands and knees and tried to pull himself back up as quickly as he could. It was not fast enough. The next thing he knew, Two-Face's fists were beating him down again. Each hammering blow came one after another with no sign of relenting. Panicking, he tried to crawl somewhere, anywhere away from the pain but was only met with several blows from a heel against his side and across his jaw. Dick heard his ribs crack. "Mr. Dent…stop…please…" Robin pleaded through fat lips, blood draining out of his mouth and onto the rusty deck.

The two toned man only chuckled darkly, "So, its _Mr. Dent _now is it?" He lifted the young boy off his feet by the collar of his cape and peered at Dick as if to judge his bone structure, "But what can I say? This is just the way it's gotta be. The innocent will always suffer and be corrupted on the account of conflict. This is the blessed truth and harsh justice of fate. With time, innocence inevitably dies." With that, he gripped the boy's jaw and threw him, head first against the cabin of the ship. Dick spat out a tooth and fell to the ground. His limbs trembled as he struggled to get up. But he couldn't. Instead, he slumped over, vomited, and passed out. _Batman…Mom…Dad…I've failed you…_

"He's out already?" Dent cocked his head in disappointment.

_Crack!_ The trap door under the DA's weight finally gave way. The DA plummeted into the bay. His eyes snapped open as soon as he hit the cold waters. Hearing the splash, a crescent smile crept across Dent's face. He grabbed the young boy's cape.

"Robin! Hang on!" Batman's voice reached Dick's ears. The young boy awoke to the unsettling sensation of being dragged across the deck toward the gallows. He grabbed at his throat, trying not to be strangled by his cape. Two-Face stopped at the edge of the gallows platform behind Batman. Grabbing Robin by the throat, Dent slammed the boy, prone against the rotting wood and dragged him by his short hair until his head was hanging over the edge.

Gripping, Robin's jaw and scalp tightly he forced the struggling young boy's eyes open with his fingertips. He did this in such a manner that Dick couldn't turn away from the DA's bound body writhing and sinking in the cold water. "Watch, boy! You must see the full consequences of your actions! Watch as he sinks below the surface…witness the panic, the fear in his eyes! This is the fate of your decision, boy!" Two-Face hissed hotly in Robin's ear, "_You chose this!_" The DA's bubbles ceased to be discernable from the choppy waves below.

"Stop it Dent! Let him go!" Batman shouted, "Stop it!"

"Interesting, isn't it, Batman?" Still gripping the boy, Two- Face glanced at the struggling superhero behind him, "How things always happen in pairs? For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. See how as one innocent dies, another, your boy, plummets with him to hell though he is but an onlooker."

"Damn you! Harvey! Damn you!" Batman twisted against his ropes some more.

Two-Face turned to look at Robin again. The boy had long ago lost his energy and ceased to struggle. Fat tears rolled out of his puffy eyes and into the bay.

"Aww, don't worry, kid. You won't have to live with the guilt." Two- Face fished his signature coin out of his pocket, flipped it, and caught it. Opening his palm, he glanced at the scratched head that faced him. "Not for too long anyway," he shoved the coin back in his pocket and dragged Robin back off the platform and onto the deck. Dick flinched and started to struggle, again, though weakly this time.

"And now, Batman, it's your turn. You too must face Fate's judgment of your actions." He dropped the kid in front of him and kicked him until he stopped moving. Two-Face lifted Dick by the scalp as if to display the half conscious body to Batman, "I'm sure you talked him into this…'profession.' Made him believe he wanted this dark life. But all you've done, Batman, is steal away his innocence faster. Pity, for such a young, delicate one." With one hand Dent ripped Robin's shirt off and dropped his battered body, face down onto the deck, again. With two hands he stripped the boy's pants off.

"What are you doing to him? Don't touch him! Dent! Stop! Punish me! I'm the guilty one! Don't touch him! I swear, once I get my hands on you…" Batman screamed and raged against his binds furiously, "Robin! Robin! Wake up! Get up! Get up!"

Robin's eyes fluttered beneath his dark mask. With a flinch they snapped open at the ringing sound of Two-Face's belt buckle being undone. Suddenly, his skin tightened in the cold air; a jagged piece of metal ground into his thigh. Robin traced the familiar shape with his fingertips. It was the batarang he threw earlier!

"Get up, Robin!" Bruce shouted again, "Robin!"

Just as the two- toned man began to descend on him, Robin flipped over and drove the batarang deep into Two-Face's lower abdomen. The blood was hot against Robin's naked flesh as it streamed down his arms and over his body. More repulsed at the sweaty, split face that breathed heavily on him, Dick pressed the blade deeper into Two- Face for what seemed like forever.

Shaking and covered in crimson, he eventually felt his hand tire and release the batarang from his grip. As if in a daze, Robin slowly pushed Dent's body off of him, got up, and walked over to Batman.

"He tried to get inside me," the boy murmured as he untied his hero, "but I didn't let him…I stopped him. We're safe now."

"Robin…" was all Batman said as the young boy collapsed and passed out in his arms.

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_Two-Face…you should have died that night._ The wind whipped through Robin's thick hair as the prisoner convoy sped down the highway. _One thing is for certain, though. This time when I find you…I WILL kill you…_

**Author's notes:** So what did you think? I tried re-thinking this flashback scene and went ahead and changed some of Two-Face's lines in effort to make him more subtle, but I still had trouble writing him. Any advice/suggestions?


	8. Chapter 6: Wounds

**Author notes:** Sorry again it took so long, been getting distracted with some other things. You know I'd post faster if people left comments ;-). Thanks to those who have been commenting, it means more than you know. FYI, I've also cleaned up the wording of ch 5 a tiny bit, but not much changed …I'm really not sure what to do to improve it. Any suggestions?

**Chapter 6: Wounds**

_Vrmmm!_ The night air was crisp with a fragrant hint of fire wood. Stiff, colored leaves swirled in the wake behind Robin's motorcycle as it made its way down the long road toward Wayne Manor. Barbra wasn't at her place when he had swung by so he figured she was probably still with Bruce.

The moon was full and it was all too easy to lose yourself in the lush rolling hills in this area. Sometimes for even a brief moment he would forget that he was still in the dark city of Gotham, the dark city that stole his life, his soul's condemned prison. No matter how far he ran, he was forever damned to the consuming darkness that was Gotham.

Despite this and his difficulty with Bruce as of late, this stretch of road right before the manor always brought a playful smirk across his face. Must be the so-called "fond" memories of the charade of a childhood he had. A meagar amount of recollections brushed up against his mind: Alfred pushing him down these hills in a sled at first snow; running along them with the butler in tow while holding a kite; kissing Barbra in that tree over there; one of the few times he really got to look at her alone and without a mask. She was really the only one that understood him, that could make him forget about the black sorrow that constantly threatened to consume him.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, the usually professional Robin popped his motorcycle up and shifted all the weight to the back wheel, as if to spite the midnight stillness. "Woohoo!" he crowed, gaseous puffs of steam escaping his throat. Who cared? No one was around, the transfer of Zucco had gone without incident and surprisingly _ahead _of schedule, and he was finally out of his form fitting costume after almost 18 hours. Why couldn't he be the faceless, mindless teenager he was supposed to be?

Coming down out of the wheelie Robin felt a sheepish warmth fill his cheeks. _What was he doing?_

All of the sudden, out of nowhere a dark silhouette sprang across the road in front of him, freezing in the crystal beams of his headlight. Dick's eyes widened at the shape of the shadow, "Raven!" The light of the headlight shifted away from figure in the road as Robin swerved his cycle to a jerking halt. Pushing up his goggles, Robin looked around only to find that he was still alone and at the gates of Wayne Manor.

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"Hey, anyone there?" Dick buzzed the intercom at the side of the gate several more times only to be met with silence. "Huh." Alfred was probably asleep and the others must have gone on night rounds after the ball. Robin shrugged. Oh well, he could easily let himself in.

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When he entered the mansion he found all the lights to be off except for one in the foyer of the front door. A large chair from the living room had been pushed to a nook of the entrance hallway and in it was settled the aged British butler snoring lightly.

A tender smile with a hint of concern spread across Robin's face. _So you waited for me, huh, Pennyworth? How did you know I would have to crash here for the night?_ Dick pulled the blanket covering Alfred's legs up to cover the rest of his body. He took the half finished glass of scotch on the arm rest of the chair to the kitchen, turned off the light in the foyer, and made his way up to a guest room on the second floor.

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"Robin..." Raven's severed head whispered.

"Raven," Dick awoke from the nightmare again with her name on his lips. He lifted his head up from the desk in the study. The clock read 3:37AM meaning only 15 minutes had passed since he had last closed his eyes.

Earlier he had been unable to get comfortable enough in the guest room to sleep, so he had decided to use the computer in the study to see if he could pin point Two-Face's most recent whereabouts. According to the news, Batman and Batgirl had raided one of his operations downtown, early last week. Like the Akaishuen he had been stealing experimental technology from places like Wayne Enterprises and government facilities and selling it on the black market. But, of course, Two-Face had gotten away. "Damn it, Batman," Robin swore out loud, "he's gonna be a bitch to find because he's laying low, now…all because you couldn't do your job." Dick ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. _But if he was busted last week and laying low…why would he risk leaving Gothom? And how does the timing work? How could he have been in Jump City that night to shoot--_

_"There was no_ _one else up there except you, Raven, Zucco, and the other Akaishuen!"_ Cyborg's voice echoed in his mind.

A two toned face flashed across his memory for a split second.

"Easy, Robbie," he shut his eyes and massaged his temples, "you need to slow down." _Maybe some combat practice will do you some good._

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Robin felt his skin tighten as bare his feet touched the cool stone steps that lead down to the Batcave. The air was always so cold down there. However, it was of no matter, even if he was only in a tank top and work out pants he always warmed up once he started swinging around his Bo staff.

Laughing. Part way across the cave towards the combat simulator, Dick's ears perked up at the faint sound of a woman laughing. A boyish grin and blush spread across his face. It was Barbra's laugh and it was coming from the next room where the Batmobile was kept. _Someone must have just got home._

"Oh! Bruce!" Barbra tearfully swooned arching her back.

At the sight of them naked and entangled in each other Dick's arm had immediately become wax and dropped the staff in his hand. It resonated dully and rolled off to the side. The two on the ground snapped their heads up at the ringing of the staff and froze, looking at Robin's figure that stood in the door way. His mouth was a gape and his eyes were beginning to water. He just shook his head slowly in shock and backed away. _Idiot…you should have known. _After a certain distance he turned around and ran away as quickly as he could.

"Oh my God," Barbra's voice echoed in the cave, "Dick, wait!" But he was already gone.

**Author notes:** So, what do you think? Preditable? Bad? Boring? Better? I'm going to be constantly thinking about ways to revise things I've written, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! Happy Hoildays and New Year, everyone!


	9. Chapter 7: Blood

**Author's notes:** FYI I just added a line to the last chapter, "A two toned face flashed across his memory for a split second" during the scene in the study. Anyway, here's the chapter I've wanted to write for some time. Though I think some parts are still a bit rough. Any ideas on how to fix this? Anyway, hope you like it! Comment!

**Chapter 7: Blood**

_Idiot…you should have known! Did you think she'd wait for a worthless dog like you!_

Dick's eyes burned behind his mask. It was strange that he sought comfort in the very thing that strapped him to misery. This costume was born from that which he wore while he watched his parents die, when _he _died. Barbara had stripped him out of this costume the night he lost his virginity. How many times with these gloved hands had he nearly killed a man? How many innocent lives were destroyed because of their failure to act? _Failure…_

Yet, here he was, on his motorcycle, heartbroken and speeding in erratic patterns throughout the darkness of hell itself, Gotham. Long ago he had donned the Robin mask under the pretense to save the world, only to find that through the eye holes of this mask he would only witness tragedy and even commit human atrocities. It was like he knew that with this mask he would never find happiness, but only his doom. Yet, still sometimes it seemed as if he deliberately sought to torture himself.

Robin continued to apply increasing pressure to the gas pedal.

"_Oh, Bruce! Oh!"_ God…he couldn't get her out of his head, "_Oh, Bruce…"_ Her warm red hair cascading over her pale shoulders, her soft skin, the arch of her spine, her supple breasts firm with pleasure, her lips forming an "O" in ecstasy... She had _never_ once looked at him like that, even though he loved her the most.

"_Oh, Bruce!" _God! For the life of him he couldn't get her swooning voice out of his ears! Robin clinched the handles of the cycle tightly and stiffened against his motorcycle. He flexed his muscles against the constraints of his form fitting costume. Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore! He pulled over and stopped in an alley. _Stupid!_ _Stupid! _He slammed his fists against the brick wall several times until he had no strength left. Warmth radiated from his battered knuckles. _Idiot…_ He sank down onto the wet pavement, his shoulders heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. He hated his manhood. _I'm so messed up…_

Dick wasn't sure how long he was in the dark alley, but it was a woman's scream that reminded him where he was.

"Leave me alone! Don't touch me!" Her voice reverberated down the alley. At first the sidekick rose slowly, but once he was on his feet the woman's frantic screams somehow made him remember why he had come back. He had a job to do. How could he have forgotten? With a sudden burst of energy, he ran further down the alley, redirecting his hate outwards into his tightly balled fists.

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"Come on, sweet cakes, give it up." The thin man advanced on a cornered woman, "you know you like it." He pressed up against her, placing his hand on her bare thigh then slowly grouping up her skirt.

As Robin drew near, he squinted. That man…Robin recognized him! The fiery red hair, the freckles, it was Two-Face's right hand man. Or was it his left? Two-Face being fixated on the number two had a pair of identical twins that answered directly to him; the "Right" and the "Left." Both were down right brash and did whatever Two-Face told them to do. However, the "Right" did follow a certain code of ethics while the "Left" had no morals at all. Before reaching the end of the alley where the thin man and struggling woman were, Dick silently climbed up a fire escape.

"I told you get off!" the woman squeezed her eyes shut in disgust and tried to push the man away but it was no use.

The thin man only continued his advances, "Oh come on, cu—" Suddenly, he froze. Eerily all the moonlight in the alley's corner had been blotted out. He whipped his head up to see a lean, caped silhouette outlined in the moon, standing on top of the brick divide at the end of the alley. "Shit…it's...B-Bat…" the man's jaw dropped. He let go of the girl and retreated a couple steps back. The woman shrunk back into the corner trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Close, but I'm worse." Robin's voice was surprisingly icy, "So which one are you? The good one? Or the bad one?" Before the man could answer or flee Robin swooped viciously down upon him.

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"Careful with the merchandise!" Two-Face shouted, startling the doves out of the abandoned church behind him. His men gingerly readjusted their grips on the large wooden crates that they lowered into an emptied coffin. Despite knowing he would have to lay low the coin had told him that he should continue his operations at least minimally in order to avoid profit losses. Lucky for him, he was able to scrap together a skeleton gang and hole up in what was formally St. Jude Catholic Church. "Lefty," Two Face spat into a radio, "Where are you with that next truckload?"

_Crack! Fizzle…_

"Lefty?"

_Pitter…patter…drip. Drip. Driiiip._ Two- Face flinched when he became aware of a lukewarm liquid running down the white half of his two-toned suit. He whipped his Tommie gun up and slowly aimed his sights into the knarled branches of the tree that loomed above him.

_Pop! Fizzz…._ The static sounds of a radio were coming faintly from above him! Two-Face's eyes widened, even the disfigured half of his face was horrified at the sight above him.

A dark figure draped in cloth crouched in the crook of the branch directly overhead, looking at him. The crumpled body where the radio sounds were coming from hung doubled over the branch; his legs, hands, and head dangling in the foggy cemetery air. Blood drained over his inverted face, down his arms, and off his fingertips, staining the grass below dark with crimson.

"You know I really admire your tenacity," The figure's chilling voice cut through the cool night air.

_Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack!_ The shadow leapt off the branch just in time to avoid the spray of bullets. The branch shook sending the crumpled, unconscious body of "Lefty" down into the grave on top of the diggers in the open grave. "Damn! It's Batman! Get him!" Two-Face ordered. His gang scrambled for their weapons.

The figure landed square in the middle of the charging gang and began swinging left and right with a silver staff that sometimes glinted in the moonlight. _Pow! Bang!_ The staff was mighty and the sound of it connecting with bone and soft flesh could be heard every 3 seconds.

_Ka-blam! Ka-blam!_ The guns were of no use. The silhouette only dodged the lines of fire and with a flutter of his cape the men would be down in a split second.

"You're going to pay for what you did to my brother, Batman!" Righty's voice rang out across the darkness.

Two-Face didn't stay to watch the end of the struggle. Completely mortified he ran into the old church.

"Ah!" "Oh my God!" "Flank him!" "He's too fast! He's—ah!" "Jesus!"

The men's screams came bloodily out of the radio at Two-Face's hip. "…Mr…Dent…" _Cough. Gurgle…_Righty's wet plea was the last thing Harvey heard as he switched the contraption off.

All of the sudden it was silent. Two-Face nervously looked around. Reaching the pulpit, he tore up a piece of rug still present on the floor of the old church. His hands shook in the dark as they traced the floor boards looking for the hidden door.

_Whiff! Chink!_ Swirling out of the darkness came a blade cutting into the back of his hand and fixing it to the wooden floor. The clouds outside parted. Moonlight poured through the broken stained glass windows, turning red and racked across the dusty, splintered pews revealing the dark masked figure in front of him. Crows flew out in a flurry from behind him.

"Oh it's just you kid." Two-Face smirked and let go of his Tommie Gun and tried to pull Birdarang out of his hand, "For a minute there I thought you were the Bat."

Robin's eyes narrowed, "I'm _nothing_ like him!" Dick threw down his staff that had become slimy with blood and saliva. He wanted to do this with his own hands! Robin swung again and again beating down old nemesis. After a while he wasn't thinking anymore. He was just focusing on the energy and warmth that seemed to flow from his battered knuckles through his body as he landed each blow…it was…_empowering_.

Suddenly, the rhythm of the blows was interrupted. Two-face had managed to free his hand which he used to slice upwards across Robin's chin. Caught off guard, Robin stumbled back a few steps. Landing a couple kicks and forcing Dick to the ground, Two-Face fumbled in his pocket for his pistol.

Robin whipped up and tackled the two-toned man, sending the pistol skidding across the dusty, hardwood floor. _Crack!_ Grabbing a plank of wood that he had fallen prone on, Harvey swung around and caught Robin across the face. "Ah!" Robin clutched his jaw. Two-Face tried to slam the plank against him again but this time Robin blocked with his forearm and kicked Dent to the ground with a roundhouse. In the corner of his yellow eye, the two-toned man caught the glimmer of his silver pistol. He lunged for it. Robin's eyes widened as he scrambled to kick the gun away.

The next thing Robin knew he was in intertwined with Two-Face in a stance lock. Cornered against the wall was Two-Face with his right collar in one of Robin's fists. Albeit Robin held the gun in the other hand, Two-Face had that arm in a grip that threatened to force his elbow backwards. One of Two-Face's palms was placed over Robin's, trying to squeeze it shut on the trigger. Their legs were locked together with the gun pointed at Robin's right knee.

Their nostrils flared while they were trying to catch their breaths and stare each other down. Robin looked down at the trembling gun barrel aimed at his kneecap. He then locked eyes with Two-Face.

"Ahhh!" They both screamed.

_Bang!_

The doves flew off the eaves of the forsaken church.


	10. Chapter 8: Screams

"Ahhh!" They both screamed.

_Bang!_

**Chapter 8:** **Screams**

Robin felt the bones in his arm twist and shatter, tearing into his flesh! But not before forcing the aim of the gun to shift and his hand to close over Two-Face's knee, instead. Two-Face crumpled to the ground writhing in pain, "Fuck! You mother f…" The pistol slipped out of Robin's limp fingers and clattered on the hardwood floor.

Stumbling over to a pew that had been overturned, Robin steadied himself. His right arm hung uselessly at his side. Blood ran thick down it from a wound where a jagged bone fragment had broken through the skin. With his teeth and good arm he quickly fashioned a tourniquet around his upper bicep in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Shut up!" After a while Robin threw down his third and last attempt at making a sling. His good hand and body where starting to shake too much. "Shut the hell up," he shouted again. Dick hunched over and took the pistol up into his quivering left hand. Was it blood loss? Was it fear? Anger? Or a crazy mix of everything? "It ends now Dent! Tonight, you will be repaid for your sins."

Two-Face tipped his head up towards the ceiling and clenched his jaw, squeezing his eyes shut. Sweat poured down his face, "What the hell are you talkin' about, kid?"

A dark smirk. Robin bowed his head; black hair fell into his eyes. He wiped the corner of his swollen lip with the back of his hand, further smearing the droplets of blood on the left side of his face. He aimed the gun at Two-Face's other leg and fired a bullet square into the crime lord's shin.

Harvey Dent's screams echoed throughout the church. Those screams…they were horrible…it was as if they were from dark depths of hell itself. They were the closest thing Dick had ever heard to those that shrieked out from his own dying heart. The last time he heard such a horrible sound was—

Oddly enough, like a man who seeks an instrument that mimics his woeful wails Dick hungered more for those screams. He had suppressed the longing so much that the pain of hearing them finally only made him long for more. It was as if he realized that the sole reason he continued to live was to find something that matched that horrible sound he heard 10 years ago...the night he died.

Robin cocked the gun again and pressed it against Two-Face's other knee. "Tell me, Dent…who do you hate more?"

"Fuck you!" The corner of Two-Face's eyes watered.

"Suit yourself." Robin's glove creaked as he began to squeeze the trigger.

"Whoa wait, kid. Let's not be too hasty." Two-Face's eyes widened as he shifted around uneasily. He shook his head weakly, "It's not you if that's what you're asking for."

"That wasn't so hard now was it, Dent? Didn't even need your coin to tell you what to do," Robin chuckled darkly, "You know what I realized tonight? I realized that we both hate…_Batman._"

Two-Face didn't say anything. He just continued to stare sedately at his tormentor. His body had grown limp and his eyes had taken on a hazy glaze, now.

"But," Robin took a couple steps toward the villain. He proceeded to kneel down in the pool of growing blood. The moonlight that poured through the crimson stained glass windows made the blood appear almost black. "After what you've done to me…to my family…to my friends," with each word Dick slowly leaned in further until he was he could whisper into Harvey Dent's normal ear, "I hate you…ever…so slightly…more!"

Robin pressed the barrel of the gun up against Two Face's temple and stood back from the disgusting villain.

"W-whoa," Two-Face struggled weakly, "wait...what are you doing? Your family? Your friends? I don't know what hell you're talking about. Come on, kid. You can't do that…you're one of the good guys…"

Robin could feel the rage contort his face once again. The back of eyes began to burn with tears, "It ends now." Dick stiffened his grip around the pistol handle.

"Wait," the two-toned man's voice suddenly changed from a gravelly sound to a smooth normal one, "Robin, it's me the former DA. Don't you recognize me? Please don't kill me. I can tell you who he was stealing for. You want to know right? I know, Robin. I found out. I couldn't stop Two-Face, though. It was the coin…I had no choice. But I know you can stop him, Robin. I can help you. Just please don't hurt me anymore." Two-Face's head twitched and the gravelly voice piped up again, "Shut up, coward. If the boy doesn't kill you the boss will." He threw his head back over to right and looked up at Dick, "Robin, please understand" the smooth voice returned, "I didn't want to do any of this. _I don't know what I have done!_ But I want to help you. Just don't kill me, please. Please hear me out," Two-Face threw his head back to the left again, "You're dead, Dent! You're dead!" Two-Face turned back to the right and began to weep pitifully. _Who do you believe?_

After Dick regained his stern composure, he reaffirmed his aim at Two-Face's head, "You're lying." He began to close his palm around the gun's handle.

"No! You have to believe me! Slade! He calls himself Slade."

Dick took his finger away from the trigger, "What did you say?" His scowl lightened. A two-toned face…a two-toned _mask_ flickered in his mind! It _wasn't_ Two-Face who shot Raven but—. _How could I have been so careless?_

"And where do I find…Slade," Robin spat out the name as if it were an insult.

"That's all I know I swear! He always contacted Two-Face by phone, anyway. So, I don't know. I think picked up the phone once. Voice was distorted…knocking…someone was knocking on the door in regular intervals in the background." Harvey Dent threw his head to the side again, "DEAD, DENT! You're so fucking dead!"

Robin lowered the gun. It was hard not to feel sorry for a man being torn from both the inside and out. Just then a crow flew into one of the red stained glass windows that was still intact. The window cracked and shattered under its own weight. Bit by bit, like drops of rain or blood, as each fragment fell from the window frame, the red light was replaced by pale moonlight. _"My Robin. My dear little Robin."_ His mother's voice, then her scream echoed in his ears.

"Good bye, Mr. Dent." Robin raised the gun again.

_Shink! Bang!_ All of the sudden, a Batarang came from the entrance of the church, knocking the gun out of Dick's hand just as his hand clamped down on the trigger. "Robin! NO!" Batman and Batgirl came running down the aisle towards him. Robin straightened up.

Batman reached Dick first. He looked at Dent who was slipping into unconsciousness, then at his side kick with a limp arm. "What do you think you were doing, Robin?"

"Just saying my 'good-byes,' Bruce. Robin stepped, although shakily, around Batman towards the foyer of the church.

Batman easily stepped back around Dick and blocked the doorway, "I'm sorry, Dick, but I can't let you leave. Not until you _tell_ me what you're doing here."

"Is that a fact?" Then, like a pent up dam bursting, Dick grit his teeth and struck Batman with a solid punch. Bruce caught Robin's hand in the second attempt and kicked him back into the church. "Ahhh!" Robin landed on his broken arm.

"Dick, stop. Don't!" Barbra's call once again landed on deaf ears. With tears streaming down his face, Dick ran at Batman again. He pulled on every martial arts move that he had learned, but failed in every attempt to land another blow. Again and again, Batman blocked and counterattacked him, throwing Robin against the ground each time.

"Stop, Dick. He's going to kill you if you don't stop!" Barbra pleaded again.

Robin's hands trembled as he tried to get up, again. All of the sudden he doubled over and spat out a mouthful of blood. It reminded him of that night he was on the iron ship deck with Two-Face. Dick's hunched shoulders began to shake violently. He was laughing? He grit his teeth and began to push himself to his feet again. _That's it, you psychotic bastard. Just finish me off…finish what you started 10 years ago when you gave me this mask…_

_Wham!_ Batgirl hit Robin on the back of the head. Dick collapsed back onto the ground.

"Why, Barbra?" Dick murmured as his vision blurred.

"I'm sorry," she said with a sad look on her face when he looked up at her, "It was the only way to make you stop."

**Author's notes:** Sorry for this boring chapter, guys. Calm before the storm, perhaps? Heh. Is it going too slow? Is it confusing? Let me know what you think! Are people still out there reading?


	11. Chapter 9: Prodigal Son

**Chapter 9:** **Prodigal Son**

_(Last Year…while juggling time with the Teen Titans and Gotham)_

"Barbra!" Dick pounded his fists against the solid pane of ice separating them, "Hold on! Barbra!" The section of the hall Robin was sealed in was too small for him to utilize his explosives. Thinking quickly he took a Batarang and carved an "X" into the thick ice. He then grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and slammed it, once…twice…over and over again on the "X."

_How could he have been so stupid!_ Having let his emotions blind him, Robin had run into Mr. Freeze's artic lair without a plan and ahead of Batman. Becoming aware of Robin's and thus Batman's presence, Mr. Freeze had sealed Robin in the section of the hallway he was in now and had sent his cronies out to search for Batman. From here he could look down and see Barbra and Mr. Freeze in the operating room. Artic water outlined the operating area. One could only get to the area from one of four sets of stairs, one on each side of the rectangular room, that spanned over this artic moat.

_Damn! _If Robin had been a couple more yards faster and he could have been on the flight of stairs just beyond this corridor that led down to where they were.

_This was all his fault!_ First, Barbra had been kidnapped right in front of him while they were out on a date, a _real_ date for once. Now, because of his _stupid_ emotions Batman and he may not be able to stop Victor Freeze from cutting Barbra open for her organs.

Fine, white cracks in spider web patterns began to form on the surface of the ice wall. However, the wall still held fast like a sheet of stone.

_Wooosh!_ All of the sudden, gallons of ice cold water emptied out on top of Robin, filling the hall to the ceiling! Robin lost his grip on the fire extinguisher as the water pushed him flat against the floor.

"Why are you doing this?" Strapped to an operating table of ice, Barbra blinked sedately as the anesthetic began to take effect.

"I'm sorry Miss. Gordon. But you must understand," Mr. Freeze's monotone voice was slightly distorted by the microphone in his suit, "This is nothing personal. I am merely doing this for the very same reason that young boy up there is beating his hands bloody for you," he nodded his glass domed helmet toward Robin who was slamming his fists against the wall again, despite being submerged in ice water. The cold and the water slowed the speed and power of his fists considerably. He was growing numb and weak…

"I love my wife, Miss Gordon," Mr. Freeze's red goggles glistened as he continued, "and I'm afraid that love makes you do strange and, even, unspeakable things. Your sacrifice will indefinitely save Nora, my wife." He removed the surgical blanket that covered her bare body. Batgirl shivered.

_Crack! Pah!_ Two parka clad henchmen flew across Robin's view followed by the Dark Knight. Dick paused for a moment, trying to keep his last gulp of air from escaping his lungs. Bruce glanced over at Dick, who pounded once with his fist as if to say, "Come on! Let me out!"

Batman just turned and swooped down on Victor Freeze, dodging Freeze's ice ray gun. He proceeded to fight Mr. Freeze alone. _Damn you, Bruce!_

_Wham!_ After trading a couple blows, Mr. Freeze kicked Batman square in the chest, sending him sliding across the floor, "You must stop meddling in my affairs, Batman!" Batman jumped back up and flipped up onto a second set of steps across from Robin's view in hopes of swooping down on Freeze, again.

"Stay put!" Mr. Freeze raised his ice ray gun and froze Batman's feet to the ground. "Now you will witness my happiness, Batman…you will witness a miracle," Mr. Freeze turned back to Barbara and picked a scalpel up from a tray by the operating table.

Then, just as he was about to make the first incision between her breasts…_Bang!_ With his last breath, Robin had positioned the fire extinguisher back from the pane of ice and had struck it just right so that the pressure released from the extinguisher forcefully propelled it against the "X" in the wall. The spider web cracks in the ice grew and spread in a jerky pattern across the entire wall. Suddenly, the weakened wall gave way, releasing a tidal wave of water across the operating area.

"Ahhh!" Mr. Freeze's eyes widened as he was swept off the floor and into the artic water that surrounded the operating area. Batman gasped as he watched the water wash over Barbra. The water was not high enough to touch him. "Barbra!" he screamed. With a quick twist he managed to shatter the ice that bond his feet to the ground.

By the time Batman was completely free, the water was clear from the operating table. He jumped down to see Robin, though shivering uncontrollably, get up from the floor and try to give Barbra mouth to mouth. Hair dripping with water, he eventually collapsed across her, hugging her naked body. "I'm sorry," he kissed her with quivering blue lips and slid down, shivering on the ice floor, "I can't save you…I'm so sorry." Salty water streamed down his cheeks.

Robin peered up at Batman who stepped up to the table and proceeded to breathe life back into Barbra's lungs.

Barbra gurgled and coughed, "Bruce…" She opened her eyes and smiled weakly as he undid her bindings and draped his thermal cape over her bare body. He lifted her up off the table and glanced down at the shivering and chattering boy on the ground. To this day Robin didn't know what to make of that look. _Disappointment? Distain?__Anger? Hate?_

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Dick shivered, his body felt as cold as ice, like that night in Dr. Freeze's lair.

"Don't worry, my darling," in his dream, a woman, warm and radiant, wrapped her arms around him, "I have you. I have you my darling." She sounded like Barbra, but when Robin looked up at her with somber eyes, he found that it was…

"Raven," he whispered as he came out of the dream. A familiar ceiling loomed above his head. There was a picture of a knight facing a dragon painted on it. Gold paint highlighted the knight's armor and the fire that spewed out of the dragon's mouth. Robin was back in his old room at the Manor.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Master Dick," Alfred came up to the bedside, "but it is only I, the old but dashing British butler."

"Alfred," Robin smiled, then grimaced as he tried to sit up. Pain shot through his arm and up and down his body.

"Easy now," Alfred adjusted the pillows behind Dick, "you've been in and out of consciousness for quite a bit, sir. About three days, now, I believe."

"That long huh?"

"How do you feel?" Alfred inspected the dressing of Robin's wounds and the cast on his right arm.

Robin chuckled despite the pain, "Like someone broke my arm."

"Yes, "Alfred chuckled, "I'm afraid you won't be doing much crime fighting for a couple months."

"If ever again," Bruce's voice came from the door way, "Alfred, Barbra and I would like to have a word with Dick in private."

"Oh, of course, Master Bruce," Alfred scuffled out of the room.

Clad in a bathrobe and slippers, Bruce walked over to the arched window that over looked Gotham Bay. Barbra trailed hesitantly into the room behind him. She sat at a chair near the door.

"So tell me," Batman spoke to the reflections in the window, "now that you're awake, what exactly have you been up to, Dick?"

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"Let me get this straight," Batman said after Robin had recounted the events from the warehouse with the Akaishuen to his confrontation with Two-Face, "your friend was shot by an unknown assailant who, though you were not certain of the evidence, you _assumed_ was Harvey."

"I didn't assume! I remembered that the shooter had a two-toned face," Robin decided to leave out the part about the vision he had of Raven's memories, "Zucco couldn't have been working alone. You know he's not smart enough to get hold of AI robots like the Akaishuen on his own. Besides, Two-Face and Zucco had worked together in the past, _plus_ they were performing identical heists, Bruce. Both were stealing the same kinds of technological goods from facilities all around Gotham and Jump City and selling them in the same exact fashion. All the so-called evidence pointed to Two-Face as the shooter, Batman"

"So you think that gave you the right to kill Harvey in cold blood?" Bruce whipped around and looked at Dick with eyes a flame, "Harvey was begging for his life, Dick! And you were going to shoot him too…_even_ after you found out that the man he was working for, 'Slade' is most likely your shooter…you were going to kill Harvey."

"Harvey? On a first name basis, huh? So, you've already forgotten that he _murdered_ my parents? And about the 'double gallows?' I don't know if you've noticed or not, Bruce, but your best friend Harvey Dent doesn't exist anymore! It would have been a favor to put him out of his misery!"

A silence fell across the room.

Batman shook his head and looked back out the window. A storm was beginning to roll in over Gotham, "You shouldn't have come back, Dick. There's a reason why I like to work alone."

"Somehow, Bruce," Dick looked directly at Batgirl sitting in the chair next to the door, "I highly doubt you'd work alone." Barbra looked away at something non existent on the floor.

"Don't act so innocent yourself," Barbra spoke to the carpet, "I know all about your _dates_ with what's her name? Starfire?"

Dick's eyes hardened, "Those were just…" Robin trailed off. _How did she know?_ He really wasn't sure what to make of his outings with Starfire and _only_ Starfire. Had he hoped for something during the time he was with her? But he never touched Star, never kissed her; even though, he had wanted to and came close to kissing her once. But that was a long time ago…before he fell for Barbra.

"Don't talk about something you know nothing about," Dick finally said with anger in his breath. His throat tightened, "You have no idea how much you meant to me, do y—"

"Enough!" Bruce interrupted the quarrel, "I'm sorry, Robin. But this isn't working anymore. As soon as you're well enough, I want you out of here. You're not welcome here, anymore. Go back to your Tower in Jump. We can take care of ourselves here."

"So it's come to this, huh? Just like that, the 'affair' is over." Dick spoke to the foot of his bed and didn't turn to watch them leave.

"I'm serious, Dick. Oh, and one more thing," Bruce stopped in the doorway with his back to Robin, "Leave the Robin costume. It is, after all, Wayne property."

Dick's mouth fell open. He turned his head just in time to see the door shut behind Batman and Batgirl.

**Author notes:** First, so sad that TT is over (moment of silence)

2nd, I've written this chapter really really late at night, so if I'm missing any words or the wording doesn't make sense or if anything needs improvement, please let me know. Also, FYI the flashback is loosely based off of "Batman and Mr. Freeze: Subzero." Oddly enough I haven't watched that one, yet…what's wrong with me?

Well let me know what you think of this chapter! Should I be more descriptive with my writing in general? Anyway, thank you to everyone who's still reading and commenting! It really encourages me to get more writing done and continue the story! (it is headed somewhere, trust me….hehehe ).


	12. Chapter 10: Ghost

**Chapter 10: Ghost**

_(Two weeks later…)_

Dick laid the Robin suit out onto the bed and stared at it long and hard as if he were trying to memorize its every thread. It looked so deceptively perfect and simple lying there flat and vibrant in the sunlight that poured in from the windows.

All of the sudden, Dick lunged at the red costume and tore it from the sheets of the bed. He wanted to rip the thing to shreds! But, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The suit trembled in the clutches of his angry fist.

_Son of a bitch! Who needs this stupid costume anyways?_ With vicious force he heaved it against the wall by the door. The mask fluttered out onto the carpet. Dick fell to his knees and pinched the space in between his eyes as if that would stop them from burning so much._ Damn…_

"Master Dick," Alfred stepped into the room and briefly glanced down at the crumpled costume lying in a heap, "I have secured your motorcycle to the truck and am currently ready to leave whenever you are prepared."

Dick looked up at the butler, then back at the costume, "Thank you, Alfred." He got up and winced as he readjusted the sling that cradled his broken arm. Picking up his knapsack he stood in the same position for a moment.

"Master Dick?"

Dick broke his gaze from the mask lying on the rug in front of him and turned to Alfred.

"You are aware, Sir, that despite what Master Bruce says, you can stay as long as you like…or at least until your injuries are completely healed. Do not forget that this is also _your_ home."

"That's alright, Alfred. We traveling circus freaks never were allowed to stay in one place for too long, anyway," Dick walked past the butler, "I'll be fine, really. It's time I move on, anyway."

As they drove past the manor and down the drive, Dick caught sight of a red haired figure standing in the window of the second floor. Gazing up at her, he turned his head as they past her. She was just as beautiful as ever; her thin silhouette outlined in the French vanilla sunlight; the orange-brown halo that trimmed her hair; Dick couldn't take his eyes off her. It was the longest he had ever seen her since the night Bruce had told him to leave. For the last two weeks she and Bruce had kept to themselves and even if they were in the house at the same time, Dick hadn't seen them. However he could imagine what they were doing.

He kept his head turned and continued to look at her until the angle of the truck wouldn't allow him to look anymore. She and the manor grew smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared with distance.

-------------------------------

"Oh joyous day! You have returned!" Starfire leapt at Dick and squeezed him in a firm embrace. Still in a solemn mood he at first stood motionless, not responding to Starfire's affection.

"After all I said…still missed me, huh?" Dick slowly brought his good arm up and returned the hug. A mild, bittersweet grin curled the corners of his lips.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Cyborg sneered as he stepped on to the drive followed by Beast Boy. Dick's slight grin sunk away. "Couldn't stay away for too long, huh?" Vic broke his serious gaze with a smirk, "Welcome back, kid." He clapped Dick on the shoulder.

"Cyborg," the sad grin returned to Dick's face, "It's good to be back. How's Raven doing? Is she awake yet?"

Vic looked down and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Robin. I'll fill you in after you unpack."

"I see," Robin said, his hand subconsciously rubbing the orange arm of the alien that still clinging to him. Even though his arm was in a sling she would squeeze him every so often as if to reaffirm his existence.

"Easy, Star, as much as your hugs rock, it looks like he already broke his arm. I'm thinkin' he wants to keep the rest of his bones… _not_ broken." Beast Boy scratched the back of his head, "Oh dude, Robin, you gotta meet someone!" As quick as lightening the little green boy zipped over beside Cyborg and pulled a young blonde girl out from behind Cyborg, "Robin, this is Terra! And she can move the earth like nobody's business!"

"Uh, hi," She smiled widely, dusted off her gloved hand, and held it out, "Nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

Dick shook her hand and tried to hide the surprised look on his face, "Oh really?" He looked over at Cyborg, then back at Terra, and smiled. Was it genuine or forced? "Nothing bad I hope.

-------------------------------

"That should be all of them, Alfred," Dick handed the box full of spare Robin costumes over to the butler.

"I am sure Master Bruce will enjoy these, but not as much as you, Sir." Alfred pushed the box back towards Dick, "I do not believe it is my place to take these back."

"Hmpf," Dick spat, "Let him have them. I don't need his pity or his blessing for anything."

Alfred's eyes grew sadder, "Very well, Sir, if you insist." He took the box, "But I do have one last thing for you." Alfred held out a smaller gift wrapped box complete with a shiny red ribbon, "Happy 19th birthday, Master Dick."

Dick's eyes widened slightly. "Alfred…"_ Was it possible to forget how old you are?_ "Thank you," he took the package, "But my birthday isn't until next week."

"Then you may not open it, yet." The butler just smiled sadly and hugged the young man, "It's been a pleasure, Sir. No matter what, you are always welcome at the manor."

"Thank you, Alfred. Thank you for everything."

-------------------------------

"You gave her _my room!_" Dick's jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of all his belongings laying in a pile at the side of the hall, "I'm gone for only two weeks and next thing I know you're already trying to replace me!"

"Hey hey," Cyborg put out his arms and took a couple steps back, "you know I would never do that. But I didn't know when you'd be back. Besides what's the harm in getting a new titan?"

"She's already a titan, huh?" Dick raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we haven't initiated her yet. But we've been thinkin' about it. Anyway, I didn't _give _Terra anything. She's out of a home; Star and BB took a real shine to her, so we brought her back here, a week ago, I think, for what I thought…would be _only_ a couple nights, tops. And then one thing lead to another, and she… sorta… 'moved' …herself into your room… still tryin' to figure out how she got past the security lock. Heh, she's really kinda hard to get rid of…though I swear I'll find a way to get her out of there soon…." Vic trailed off.

"If you give a mouse a cookie…" Dick shook his head and chuckled, "I thought you said you could handle things while I was gone."

"Heh." Cyborg smiled sheepishly. Sweat glistened on his brow, "Well what do you expect? Things are so hard to manage around here when you're the only serious minded one left. I mean usually when you're gone Raven's around to—" The grin on Vic's face melted way. He didn't proceed any further.

Dick cast his eyes to the floor, his dark hair falling into them, "How _is_ she doing, Vic?" _He had never stopped thinking about her, had he?_

-------------------------------

The air in the infirmary was ice cold when Cyborg and Dick entered. Raven's fingertips were chilling to touch. Dick rubbed them in his hand. Faintly, he could feel the rhythm of her pulse.

"She's still comatose." Cyborg leaned against the heat register by the window, "and…she actually isn't getting any better. I don't know if she's getting any worse either. It's weird, usually Raven heals faster than most because of her abilities. You'd expect at least some progress.

"The docs sent her home the day before you left, only because _they_ think she should…die where she's most comfortable. Though they didn't know how much longer she has," Cyborg sighed, "Look, Robin, the others don't know about this, yet. In fact I told them the exact opposite. I guess I didn't want to believe it myself, either. But now you know the truth."

The heart monitor echoed distantly throughout the room. "But there's nothing we can do," Dick looked up from Raven, "is there, Vic? We're useless, useless without her."

"Robin…" Cyborg trailed off not knowing what else to say.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. It's not Robin anymore," Dick cradled Raven's face in his hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb, "Robin is dead."

**Author's notes:** Sorry about the late chapter guys! I was trying to figure out a way to make it less boring/cliché/predictable but it still ended up being that way, grrr! The next chapter should pick up the pace, though, so stay tuned!


	13. Chapter 11: Hearts

**Warning! Read at your own risk!** The dream sequence in this chapter is a bit gory/graphic! There's also a hint of psychotic shonen-ai in there too. Please, if you may be a bit squeamish or uncomfortable reading stuff like that, feel free to skip the section between the bold chapter title and the bar break after that. If you skip that section, I can assure you that you won't miss anything important or that you can't gather from the conversation before and after the dream.

If you do read it and believe it's too graphic for a "T" rating please let me know and I will edit this chapter promptly. Read at your own risk!

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_(Six months ago…)_

"I've finally isolated the cause of his psychosis," Cyborg stepped into the observation room. On the opposite wall, a one way mirror looked in on Robin lashed down to a hospital bed. He writhed against the constraints screaming in pain and spouting incoherent sentences and gibberish.

Starfire trembled as she stared teary eyed through the window.

"It's a heavy hallucinogen," Cyborg continued, "derived from the blue blossoms of East Asia. The robot Robin was fighting covered him in it when it self destructed. There's no antidote for it, but usually the poison works out of the body within 36 to 48 hours."

"And why is this not the case?" Starfire turned to face the others standing around Cyborg, "It has been almost two weeks now and he continues to…to be of madness! Is it possible that it is as Robin said? Perhaps Slade is truly in there and that we cannot see him."

"No, Starfire," Raven spoke up, "Even if Slade was cloaked, I would sense his mind if he were in there with Robin." She pushed back her hood, "But, Vic, Starfire is right. The poison isn't being worked out of his system. It must be purified or altered version of the natural compound."

"And is there nothing we can do?" Starfire turned back to the one way mirror, the tears started to stream down her face, again.

"Well," Raven retained her calm voice, "There's nothing any of _you_ guys can do. But--"

"No," Cyborg said flatly, "I won't allow it. Raven, if you go into his mind we could lose you both! As second in command I'm not willing to take that risk. I think we should wait it out a little longer for it to work out of his system."

"Vic," Raven raised said firmly, "we can't wait any more. Robin's mind is strong but it's not going to last much longer."

Cyborg looked down then back up at Raven, "How long will it take? Coz the longer you're in there, the more likely you'll go crazy too."

"Since we've already waited so long, it may take awhile. It may even be too late," Raven flipped her hood back up, "But you forget, Cyborg, that I am the spawn of a demon and that I have witnessed more horrid things than you can possibly fathom." The automatic doors hissed behind her, "and that I will do anything for Dick," she said to herself as she approached him struggling on the bed.

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**Chapter 11: Hearts**

_(Present day...1 week after Dick's return…)_

The dream always started out the same.

"Ready, Ricky?"

_Crack!_

At the start of the dream, he'd be squinting at the thin silhouettes standing in the blinding bright spot lights when the groaning wooden plank he was standing on would shatter. Then he would be falling…falling into endless darkness.

Usually he would slam onto the stage floor below, but this time a web of thin, metal wires caught him in midair, entangling them in their mass. He could feel them slicing into his flesh as he struggled against the tension that seemed to be mounting in them.

The next thing he knew he was naked and facing a mirror, the wires pulling taut around him.

"Don't worry, Robin," Slade's black and red, split mask came up from behind him and hissed in his ear, "You won't feel a thing." He held up a group glowing hot, iron spears in his fist. Dick's eyes widened. The wires cut deeper into him when he tensed up.

One by one, Slade ran each spear through Robin's abdomen and chest. Dick screamed so loud that he thought he would go deaf from his own wails. Warmth ran down his extremities as Slade drew the spears in and out of his body. Dick could hear the loud splatter of his own thick blood flooding the floor beneath him. With each spear that passed through him he longed for each one to be the last; he wished that he would pass out or die, but that never happened in these dreams. He was always conscious and could feel everything!

"Raven!" Dick screamed over and over again, "Raven!" _Where was she?_ She would appear right about now, dressed in white, and whisk him away in her arms. She would drape him in her wings and whisper in his ear, "I have you…I have you my darling…," taking all the pain away.

"Heh," the noise came out of Slade's throat. _Under that red and black mask, he was smiling! Savoring every bit of Robin's pain and cries. _Dick could feel it, "She's not coming this time, my dear little Robin. You see, I've taken care of that _little_ bird."

Slowly, the tormentor sauntered up to Robin, now limp against the taut piano wire that criss-crossed over his body. "Now, I have you all to myself," he grinned, leaning in close to Dick. Slade lifted his mask up slightly, revealing the lower half of his face, and pressed his tongue against Robin's quivering stomach. Pins and needles shot along his spine as the evil man ran a moist tongue up his body. Dick weakly turned his head when Slade reached the nape of his neck.

"Oh," Slade said pulling the mask back down when he reached Robin's jaw, "you know…you're blood is bit sweeter than I had I expected it to be. Heh." He smirked. Lifting this mask up slightly again, he brought his fingertips, sticky with Dick's blood, to his mouth.

Then, a large katana rose out of the ground and into Slade's hand. _Swish! Swish!_ The shining sword cut the wires easily as if they were mere spider's silk. Robin's limp body collapsed to the ground, face up.

Slade stepped over Dick's tortured body and straddled him between his legs, "Now…I wonder how your heart tastes." He raised the katana above Robin's sternum.

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"Raven!" Dick whipped his head up from Raven's bed. He found himself sitting in a chair and hunched over, leaning on an empty spot next to her in the hospital bed. He squeezed her hand slightly. _Right where I left you…_

With his room being...occupied, Dick had taken to sleeping in a chair at Raven's bedside. It didn't take him long to grow accustomed to the reassuring beep of the heart monitor.

"You're having those wicked dreams, again, aren't you?" Terra's voice came from the other side of the bed.

Dick looked up from Raven, "How did you…" the beep of the heart monitor began to quicken.

"Master made you crazy with them and Raven was working with you to make them go away, but now that she's gone," a dark smile crept over Terra's face as the heart monitor beep continued to increase in frequency, "they're coming back more strongly aren't they?"

_BEEEEEEEEEEP! _Suddenly, Raven's heart monitor flat lined and began to whine. Dick looked at the monitor then at Terra, "What did you do to her!" He flung the blankets off of her and began to perform CPR with his one good arm.

"Me? I didn't do anything that wouldn't have happened eventually," she backed away, openly pocketing a capped syringe, "You never could protect anyone, even if they were right front to you, Robin."

**Author's notes:** Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Hope you liked some of the elements/lines I tried to weave in from the series and from "Batman Begins."

Again, for those who read it, I hope that the dream sequence wasn't too graphic or sick for a "T" rating. If it is, please please please let me know and I'll change it or the rating straight away. But if you thought it was fine or, even, if you liked it, comment as well so i'll know what to avoid and, perhaps, give you more of what you want in future chapters :-) .


	14. Chapter 12: Split

_BEEEEEEEEEEP! _Suddenly, Raven's heart monitor flat lined and began to whine. Dick looked at the monitor then at Terra, "What did you do to her!" He threw the blankets off of Raven and began to perform CPR with his one good arm.

"Me? I didn't do anything that wouldn't have happened eventually," she backed away, openly pocketing a capped syringe, "You never could protect anyone, even if they were right in front of you."

**Chapter 12: Split**

"So Slade sent you, huh? You must be the reason why she hasn't been getting better!" Dick slammed his fist into Raven's center mass; one open palm just wasn't strong enough. _Come on, Raven! Please…please…don't leave me now…_ He tipped her head back using the fingertips of his cast laden hand, pinched her nose, and tried to puff air into her lungs.

"Like that'll work," Terra grabbed her sides laughing, "Besides, don't you know that you can't fight a toxin with your hands. Heh. If only the others were here to see this, but it's just too bad Cinderblock decided to start demolishing City Hall just moments ago. Hahaha, your so funny to watc—"

Dick lunged at Terra and grabbed her throat, "Don't laugh. You have no idea what I'm capable of." He growled and lifted her a couple inches off the ground, "Now, you and I both know Slade would never use something he can't control. So where's the antidote! I know you have it," Dick's grip began to constrict around her neck. The piercing whine of the heart monitor was so loud it burned to hear it.

Terra coughed, "Ha. You can't kill me unless you want her to die. This is a message from Slade, Robin…show you we can do anything we want…we can take her and everyone any time we please….you're powerless…heheheh….useless…" She gasped suddenly as Dick gradually tightened his grip.

"Bitch, why are you laughing?" Dick scowled and felt his fingernails dig into her flesh as he closed his fist, "You're going with her." Terra's eyes had become bloodshot and began to water.

_Crash!_ Suddenly, rocks and thin rods of slate flew through the windows and up through the floor, grazing his face and body. Some drew blood across his torso and cheeks but Dick didn't flinch. The earth mover was losing her concentration and subconsciously her body was wildly trying to save itself. His brow only furrowed more deeply as he applied more pressure to her windpipe. The salty breeze from the bay was stiff and stung his eyes.

In the reflection of the metallic wall behind Terra, Dick could see 3 boulders swirling in the air right for them. _Bang!_ When the blonde girl lost consciousness the boulders dropped immediately just before they reached his back. The stone rods that spanned the room instantly dissolved to sand. Her limp hands dropped to her sides. Dick kept his hand rigid against her. Only a few seconds more and she would…

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._ Dick blinked. _What?_ His scowl and his grip around Terra lightened. The heart monitor had returned to its normal rhythm! _So it was only a time limiting drug. Only enough poison to stop her heart momentarily… Slade really was in control…_ Terra's limp body slid to the ground and let out a small cough. The color began to return to her cheeks.

"Robin! What are you doing!" Dick turned just in time to face a green cheetah as it tackled him. The glass cut into his side as they slid across the floor.

Snapping out of shock, Dick answered, "Beast Boy…Let me go. It's not what it looks like! She was poisoning Raven…keeping her sick. Slade sent her! You've gotta contain _her_ while you can, not me!" He struggled under the weight of the big cat.

"Don't worry, people, she's breathin' alright, but barely." Cyborg's voice came over from where Dick had lost his grip of Terra.

"Dick…what have you done?" Starfire came up from behind Beast Boy.

"You guys have to believe me! Slade sent her! Check her! She has a syringe! She probably put into her IV drip! It stopped her heart but only temporarily! Check her! Cyborg!" He struggled harder and winced when he felt the bones in his arm tug slightly with tension. Vic turned his back to Dick and fished something out of the cabinet.

"Star, BB, hold him down," Cyborg said calmly and turned back around, a sad look on his face.

"Cyborg! No! You know what you're doing! Y—"Dick felt a cool prick in his shoulder. All of the sudden, he no longer had the strength to move, "Y-you have to believe me…" His eyes fell shut.

------------------------------------------------

"Oh, don't worry, my dear little Robin, I'm here for you." A hot, sweaty breath chuckled in his ear, "I'll always be here for you."

Dick squeezed his eyes closed more tightly wishing that he could move.

------------------------------------------------

"What is happening to him?" _Starfire? Is that you? _Her voice was distant and muffled.

"I don't know, Star," Cyborg's voice hummed as if Dick were hearing it underwater, "Didn't think he'd ever get this bad…but with Raven no longer treating him for his…we best keep him sedated and under observation…you saw what he did to Terra…"

"And is there nothing we…" Starfire's voice drifted away.

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"I swear," Harvey Dent's echoed across Dick's mind, "that's all I know! Slade always contacted Two- Face by phone…I don't know…there was always someone knocking on the door in regular intervals in the background…on the phone…by phone… distorted…knocking…always knocking…knocking…"

_Tick Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Bong! Bong!_ _Bong!_ The clock in the corridor echoed as it struck eight.

_That's it!_ Dick's eyes snapped open! "The clock tower!" He shouted out loud, "Slade's at the clock tower!" He tried to get up, only to realize that he had been strapped down the bed. Thick belts restrained his legs and his wrists. Two other's pinned him across his chest.

"Please, do not move," Starfire leaned over the railing of the bed, "I am sorry, but Cyborg says you must remain this way until you are cold and down." Her eyes softened as she wiped the sweat off his brow with a moist cloth. She pushed against his body lightly until he eased back down against the mattress.

"Star," Dick's eyes pleaded, "Slade, he's at the city clock tower, I just figured it out right now."

"Robin, Please." She dipped the cloth again in a pan and wrung it out.

Dick continued without pause, "He shot Raven, Starfire, and he sent Terra. You've got to believe me, you know I wouldn't—"

"Dick, please!" Her hands shook. Clear droplets trickled in between her fingers from the rumpled cloth, "Please stop!"

"Starfire…"

"Terra is but a sweet child without a home and because of you she ran away before we could be certain that she is well," she began to shake her head, "I knew I should not have disobeyed Cyborg and stopped giving you the medicine that kept you asleep." Tears began to well up in her eyes, "but I found your presents of your birth one month ago…it has been one month, Robin…and I wanted to hear you speak again."

"Star…it's been a month?" _He had been kept under for that long! _Dick almost didn't realize that his right arm was no longer in a cast. Looking around he found that most of the shattered windows in the infirmary had been replaced. A few had been covered by wooden planks. He looked away from Kory for a moment, "Star, can I at least sit up?"

She nodded with a slight depressed air. Getting up from her seat she loosened the belts across his chest and adjusted the bed.

"How's Raven." He turned to face Starfire again, who bowed her head and looked at the floor, still trying to keep the tears behind her eyes. She didn't say anything. Robin looked over at the bed on the other side of the room. Raven lay still, the bandages had been removed from over her eyes and her hair was growing long out from under the bandages that capped the top of her head. The heart monitor beeped continuously and was now accompanied by the tiny click of a respirator. Dick's eyes widened and then drooped, "So she's on a respirator now?"

"It happened right after Terra left…we do not know what went wrong, but she needs it now."

"I see…" _Damn it…_

After an awkward silence settled on the room Starfire finally looked up at Dick, "As I was saying, I found presents for your birth. It is your 19th year, is it not?" They had been pushed under Raven's bed and were unopened." She placed 2 wrapped boxes across his lap. One was larger than the other. Looking at the larger of the two, Dick recognized it as the one that Alfred had given him before he departed. The second was smaller and was slightly larger than a ring box.

"This is from me and Raven," she opened the small box and pulled out a think intricate silver necklace with a ring looped on it, "Please accept this humble gift. I made the necklace myself using my star bolts and many many wares of silver. The ring is Raven's and she came to me in a dream to remove it from her finger and give it to you. You see on Tamaran we place great value in dreams…" Kory trailed off as she placed it around Dick's neck. After doing so, she leaned back a little as if to pass judgment on the style of the necklace.

"Thank you." Dick smiled then glanced at Raven in the neighboring bed, "this means a lot to me." When he looked back at Kory she smiled wider the orange light of the setting sun casting a gentle glow on her cheeks and fiery red hair. Dick blinked. For a split second he thought he saw Barbara sitting at his bedside instead of Kory. She leaned in and meekly kissed him on his unsuspecting, closed lips. Receding only a couple millimeters from his visage she began to lean back in for another.

Dick's eyes widened, "Kory…I—"

_Reehhhh!Reehhhh!_ Suddenly the Titan alarm went off. "Come on, y'all, let's move! Cinderblock is back!" Cyborg ran down the hall past the infirmary.

"I'm sorry," Starfire whipped back into her seat, "I shouldn't have—"Still facing Dick, Star got up, levitated off the ground and receded towards the door.

"Star, come on! We gotta go!" Beast Boy shouted from down the hall.

"Kory, wait. I—"Dick called out too late. The door closes with a swish behind her. He closed his eyes. _I'm sorry, Kory. I wanted to be the one to make you happy. But I'm not that man…not anymore._

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An unsettling silence settled on the tower despite the distant breaking of the waves against the shore below. Dick looked over at Raven again and then at Alfred's package that still lay in his lap. With a sigh he leaned forward and bit down on the belt at his right wrist and started pulling up to undo the clasp. The buckles across his chest that Kory had loosened slid down into his lap with a clink. To his surprise he was still quite flexible, though not as much as he used to be when he was with the circus. After getting his right hand free he systematically began to undo the buckle on his left hand and worked his way down the length of his body.

Getting out of the bed he stretched and cracked his back. He moaned half in pain and relief. The tile floor was cold against his feet. He clenched his formerly cast bound hand a couple times as if to test it. _Good as new_.

Picking up the box that Alfred had bestowed on him before they parted, Dick walked over to Raven's bedside. He leaned on the railing of her bed and brushed the dark hair out of her face and subconsciously squeezed her fingers. Her chest pumped up and down mechanically along with the respirator. _"You never could protect anyone, even if they were right in front of you."_ Terra's voice sneered in his ears, "_...you're powerless...useless..."_

With each forced click of the machine, Dick could feel the weight in his throat swell. Body shaking, he tried to contain the dark mixture of self hate and sadness that had collected in his chest. His fingers rubbing up and down the length of her palm hastened in their action to make to her hands warm again. Before he knew it, he had brought her palm up to his face. He closed his eyes and longingly stroked his cheek against it. "I'm sorry...Raven, I'm so sorry..." he whispered as he let her hand back down. _If Robin couldn't save her...what could circus freak, orphan Dick Grayson ever do? Slade had control of everything..._

Nestling against the back of her hand, he thought he may rest his tired head...being with her made it feel safe to close his eyes...But, just as he began to doze off... _Thwack!_ Alfred's gift slid out of his left hand and hit the floor, startling Dick out of his sudden lethargy.

"Now, what did you give me, Pennyworth?" He dusted off the box and, after turning it over once, neatly tore at the crisp wrapping paper.

Dick almost dropped the box again after he had pushed the tissue paper aside. The black mask and the red suit that stared back at him were unmistakable. An age worn, black and white photograph of the "Flying Graysons" was neatly pinned to the front of the shirt. On the back, Alfred had written, "Never forget who you are."

_Bong! Bong! Bong! _The clock in the corridor struck 10 o'clock. Dick looked up, his eyes hard with determination.

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_Slade...I'm going to make you pay! I'm going to make you bleed until there is nothing left of you!_

The night air was actually quite humid as it whipped through Robin's thick hair. As he sped toward the city square, he could feel his anger thicken with the fog that seemed to be rolling in. The darkness that constricted his heart began to burn wildly in his chest. His breath became hot and exasperated as he drew near the clock tower. Gripping the bike to almost the point of pain he revved the engine.

At the city square, he concealed his R-cycle in an adjacent alley and deployed his grappling hook skyward. Slade would be near the top; close to the "knocking."

Alighting to a gargoyle laden balcony he entered the old tower. The sleepy knock of gears welcomed him. In the distance, thunder grumbled and clouds began to flicker with an approaching shower. With a flick of his wrist, Robin extended his Bo staff. Odds were that Slade already knew he was here.

"Slade!" Robin let out rage filled shout that echoed through out the tower and in the bell hanging overhead, "Show yourself! Come out you son of bitch! I've come for you! Isn't this what you want!"

Silence. Dick cautiously crept around the perimeter of the room, searching. After descending a set of stairs he could see a super computer similar to the one in the Batcave looming on one of the vast walls of the tower. Large flat screens, several feet wide and tall, nearly covered the entire wall. As he got closer he realized that the screens all had pictures of him projected on them. Some were of security cameras focused on him.

"Slade!" He shouted again, the rage flooding his dialted veins and throat. The gears of the great clock thumped to his right.

"My my my," a smug voice came from the upper deck. If words had a face, Slade's would be constantly smirking, "Aren't we the vocal canary tonight?"

Robin whipped his head up just as the split masked man jumped down from the deck swinging a thick silver staff.

**Author's notes: **Sorry for the wait guys! Things just got in the way! But, I hope you enjoyed this chapte, though it is a bit long (sweatdrop). This isn't too much info at once, is it? I just wanted to get the story moving a little faster (it's headed somewhere, I swear). What did you think? Too much at once? Too fast? Too dramatic/cliché? I'll try to think of ways to edit this chapter constantly, so if you have any suggestions or comments about, please let me know!

P.S. as you noticed…the rating is up to M for Mature for good measure. I hope this doesn't stop anyone from reading, though. My writing style/themes shouldn't change too much through the course of this fic. Plus, Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me:-)


	15. Chapter 13: Broken

"My my my…aren't we the vocal canary tonigh--" _Chink!_ Their staffs resonated against each other, obscuring the end of Slade's sentence.

**Chapter 13: Broken**

"Uhhh!" Though able to guard himself, the force of Slade's blow pushed Robin several feet back and into the wall. He slid to the ground trying to reorient himself.

A dark chuckle echoed throughout the belfry of the old clock tower, "Come now, Robin," Slade casually rested his Bo staff on his massive shoulder and sauntered up to Dick, "Is that the best you can do? You should be disappointed, really," the mercenary drew closer. Monstrous shadows of the clock gears cast ghostly shapes across his mask, "after all it did take you _ever_ so long to find me." The floor boards creaked when Slade stopped in front of the rash hero.

"Go to hell!" in one swift motion Robin swept the ground with his metal rod and jumped to his feet with a flip. With keen anticipation and agility Deathstroke leapt back dodging the staff with ease. However just when he thought he was clear, Robin's foot, coming out of the flip, connected with Slade's jaw. He landed perfectly with his staff baring arm behind him and his two fingers raised above his head in a hallmark Kung Fu stance.

Slade backed up and brought his hand to his face at the site of the impact. When he looked up again, his eyes were aflame with a demonic fire and smiling at Robin, "Very nice, Robin, but sloppy and hardly aggressive enough. Surely you can show me something better. That is, if you can!" He charged at the readied boy with great agility.

_Whiff!_ _Shhink!_ Slade's staff scrapped across Robin's, narrowly missing Robin's nose as he brought his staff in close and did a back bend to avoid Slade's swing. Whipping back up, Dick reciprocated with a two handed swing at the split mask followed by a kick. With impeccable timing, the mercenary ducked under the swing of the rod and caught Robin's foot inches away from his torso, "Nice try. But not good enough." Dick's eyes widened as Slade twisted it, forcing him to lose his footing and spin in the air in a barrel roll. _Wham!_ Robin hit the creaking floor boards. His staff rolled somewhere out of his reach.

"I'm disappointed, Robin," Slade loomed behind the young man coughing at his feet, "I expected more from the son of the Batman."

The sound of thunder and heavy rainfall began to echo throughout the tower as the storm finally ripped itself open.

"He's not my father," Dick growled. With that he threw his fist into the air as if to upper cut his attacker. However, Slade shifted his body to the side, so that only the boy's knuckles grazed his chin.

"I'm nothing like him!" On his feet, Robin shot his foot out again only for it to be caught in Slade's clutches once more.

"You have potential to be stronger than him, I'll give you that," Slade gripped the struggling young man's leg tightly, preventing him from wrenching free, "With the proper teacher you would be unstoppable."

The mercenary heaved Robin's foot upwards causing him to somersault. This time, however, they were close to a pillar. The former acrobat tucked in his legs then pushed off of it, propelling himself horizontally at Slade with a wound up fist, "Ahhh!"

Slade ducked under Robin's punch and slammed his own fist deep into Robin's abdomen. "Ack!" A bitter iron taste flooded Dick's mouth when he doubled over on the floor boards again.

"But for now, Robin, you are nothing more than a mocking bird," Slade began to circle the prone boy, brandishing his staff, "In fact, you're fighting exactly how the Bat fights…step by step…exactly as I predicted. I even know what you're going to do next," He stopped in front of the hunched over Robin, "You see I've been watching you for some time now, Dick…"

Robin's eyes widened at the sound of his first name coming from behind Slade's mask. "Shut up!" He sprang into the air and peppered feet thrusts down at his opponent as fast as lightning. However the young man's throws met nothing but air. Slade, with his eyes almost closed, eased his body this way and that, fluidly dodging each of Robin's attempts to strike him. _I-it can't be!_ Robin's eyes became wider in disbelief._ He really is anticipating my moves! _

"I know about your parents," Slade continued as Robin landed and continued his onslaught of thrusts, "your lingering feelings for Barbara, Raven, and even Starfire. I know everything about you…and that I can you make you better." With ease, he plucked Robin's arm out from the flurry of attacks and held it fast, "make you better than even the dark knight himself." He threw the boy wonder against the flat side of a large iron, gear.

"Uh!" Dick slid to the ground, the breath knocked of him.

"Come now," The glow of the computer screens littered with pictures of Robin bathed the demonic red and black mask in a foggy light as he stood over the fallen hero. The mercenary extended his open palm, "I have much to teach you."

The reverberations of the rain hitting the steeple become heavier. _Bang!_ The blood spattered sight of Raven's head snapping back from a bullet flashed across Dick's mind.

Robin clutched something in his right hand, "No. You're wrong, Slade." _Ping….ping...ping._ Three black cherry bombs hit Slade's feet. A gasp escaped from behind the split mask when the tell tale beeping of a timer reached his ears. "You're the one that needs to be schooled." Dick leapt away and deployed his grappling hook just as the bombs detonated. The hook reeled him up to the second deck. Thick black smoke flooded the lower floor and spilled out down the center of the hallow tower. Robin gripped the railing for a moment to catch his breath. _Is it over?_

"Past the formalities and already at the breaking point I see," Slade's dark voice echoed. Dick whipped around just in time to see a tattered and singed Slade descend from one of the large gears to his right, "I shall break you then!" _Pow!_ _Crash!_ Slade struck the boy wonder with a two handed swing of his metal staff, sending him headlong through the eastern glass face of the gigantic clock.

The wind whipped through Robin's hair mercilessly as he plummeted towards the ground…it was almost like his reoccurring dream. "Raven…" Dick whispered.

As his vision blurred there appeared a dark winged silhouette! Reaching out he jerked his body to a stop and slammed into the side of the clock tower. The young man blinked and realized he had managed to wrap his arm around the neck of a gargoyle on the lowest viewing deck of the tower. He began to pull himself up onto the gargoyle when Slade grabbed him from the deck by his collar. Out of the corner his eye he saw Slade ball his fist. _Pow!_ _Crack!_ _Pah!_

With weak legs Dick stumbled back a couple steps trying to keep his balance. However, before he knew it, Slade wrapped his fingers around his neck and pinned him against the wall, his grip slowly tightening. Slade's eyes narrowed in a smug smile as he watched the young boy struggle for air. He leaned in, pressing his body firm against the young man.

"Let me tell you a little secret, Dick," he hissed into Robin's ear, "At first I thought that just watching you would be enough…that if I knew everything about you…I wouldn't…_want_ you anymore…that I could just kill you. And believe me, Robin, one day, I _will_ kill you; _I will_ bathe in the hotness of your blood; and gaze upon your pale, scarred corpse…that day _will_ be mine, Robin. But not today. Because not long ago, Robin, I found that I… _must_ have you first. I must make you better so that you are worthy of death at my hands."

"Fuck you!" Robin dropped one of his hands and with a quick flick of his wrist he sliced a Birdarang across Slade's chest. The smile in the mercenary's eyes only deepened as he retained his grip on Robin.

"Tell me, Robin," Slade wrapped his fingers around the blade of the Birdarang and slowly forced the point around towards Dick. Robin grit his teeth, as the blade cut into his fingers. Exhaling sharply, he struggled to keep Slade from turning the blade on him as Slade continued, "Though your efforts were fruitless, how did it feel when you were killing Mr. Dent?"

_Sllurk!_ Thick crimson streamed out of Robin's mouth as the blade sunk into Robin's chest. "Tell me, Robin!" Slade pushed the blade deeper. Dick felt his legs give out from under him. His gaze become unfocused as his neck grew limp. _When did it stop raining?_

"I-I," Dick felt his lips move as his body grew cold, "Felt…power…justice…peace…" The boy wonder slumped over onto the ground.

"Well that was way too easy." Terra, standing on a boulder, levitated up to the observation deck.

"Tell Wintergreen to bring the car around, Terra." Slade said without turning to face the girl. He wiped the blood off his hands with a rag, "We're going home."

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_(Days later…)_

"He's all your's, govnah, but I'm tellin' ya," the doctor said, "I wish wouldn't have brought 'im to me in such a…damaged state."

"That's not what I asked you about, Mr. Mod," Slade looked through the window at the bandaged boy lying in the hospital bed in the next room, "Were you or were you not successful in what I asked you to do?"

"No worries, me duckie. I did as ya said. He won't remember ya, Terra, or any of that nonsense but 'e'll remember his parents and his time with Batman and everything in between; even the little affair between Batgirl and Batman."

"The Teen Titans, Maddy. I'm more concerned about his memories of them. Will he remember the Teen Titans?"

"Easy there, govenah, I was just gettin' to that. I had trouble with resistance in the beginnin' but eventually I found a way to block them out of his mind. And as I said before, he won't remember you or anythin' that happened to 'im when he was with the Teen Titans…he won't remember them at all."

"Excellent." Slade smiled.

**Author's notes:** Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It took some time because fight scenes are easy to picture but hard to write, heh. If there is anything that needs to be smoother or more clear, by all means let me know. This is, in fact, one of the chapters that I really wanted to write for a long time, heh. After this point some things are about to change...perhaps become more twisted... There is a reason for all of this and I planned it all along! Bwahahahahaha! Let me know if you like the way things are going or not, then I can try to maybe adjust things to give you more of what you like and avoid things you don't like.

FYI, if you're wondering who "Wintergreen" is...don't worry all will be explained...or you can Google him/Slade's backstory to find more out... if I bring characters in from the comics like Wintergreen, I'll be sure to portray and describe them so as not to lose anyone...and so I can use and describe them in roles that I wish while weaving in their true relation to the characters heh heh heh.


	16. Chapter 14: Dream or Memory?

**Disclaimer:** (Just realized I've been forgetting this but do I need to keep putting these on here?) The characters are not mine and belong to DC comics.

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"Now," Mad mod spoke to Slade's back as the mercenary gazed through the observation window at the young man in the hospital bed, "though he won't remember you, he's still not goin' to trust ya. At least not straight away, Govenah. I mean, the fact you drove 'im mad with hallucinations of you usin' Scarecrow's flower toxin left a mark even I couldn't erase. Now, what I'm sayin' is that because all his memories involvin' the Titans were his most recent ones, it was particularly hard to block them. I did indeed block them but could not blot out all instinctive feelings he had acquired from those experiences, so he's not going to be all 'hi-ho cherrio' to see you, he'll innately distrust you and even Terra."

"That's quite alright, Mr. Mod. Gut feelings can easily be overridden by experience." Slade continued to gaze through the window.

"Are you sure, Govenah? 'cause I can much more easily make him a clean slate for ya."

"No" the split mask glanced back at the old man, "I need him to remember the tragedy of his life, his training with as well as his hate for the Dark Knight, all that which made him Robin. He's useless to me otherwise."

"So I see it was only the Titans gettin' in the way, eh, me Duckie?"

"Thank you, Mr. Mod, that will be enough," Slade's visible eye smiled, "The money will be wired to your account once I've been convinced of the…quality of your work. Terra can show you out," Slade nodded to the dark corner of the room, "won't you Terra?" Mad Mod jumped when Terra stepped out of the shadows of the room. He had forgotten she was even there.

"Of course, Master." She said flashing her teeth in a wolfish grin.

**Chapter 14: Dream or Memory?**

Dick's naked skin prickled against the stainless steel operating table. Tiny surgical hooks held back his eyelids and forced his eyes to remain open. Though he could not will the dead weight of his aching body to move he could feel it shivering. _Was it fear?_

A mechanical arm swung calmly above him. As the arm got closer to his eyes Robin could see the glint of two, long, evenly spaced needles at the end of it. The blinding halo of the surgical lamp overhead washed out anything else surrounding the table.

At a painfully slow rate the glistening needles crept towards Robin and went straight for his eyes!

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"Raven!" Drenched in a cold sweat Robin bolted upright in bed. Still caught in the haze of the dream, he rubbed his eyes as if that would make sure there was nothing wrong with them. The thin sheets glided down his bare body and into his lap as he sat up. _Clink!_ Something cold and heavy tugged at his right ankle when he tried to pull his knees in closer to himself. Pulling the silky sheets to the side he saw that not only was his ankle tied to the bed post with a silver shackle but that he was also completely naked. _What the hell is this! What happened?_

"Thirteen," said the man's voice came from opposite the bed. Dick started at the sudden sound of the man's voice and quickly pulled the mass of sheets back into his lap. A dim yellow light flicked on in the corner of the room.

There was a small desk opposite the bed with a man seated at it. In the warm glow of the desk lamp the man scribbled something in a book, then closed it with one hand. He stood up and walked up to the end of the bed, "You said her name thirteen times in your sleep."

"I'm sorry," Dick said his heart panicking, "I don't know who or what you're talking about." He wiped his brow and gulped, "Who are _you_ anyway? Where am I?" Robin's eyes stung at the sudden thought of the needles and surgical hooks, "And what have you done to me?"

"Done to you? My dear Robin, we've done nothing but mend you." The man turned on the room lights. From across the room a black and red mask looked back at Robin squinting in the sudden brightness. After a pause the man continued, "So you don't recognize the mask of Deathstroke?"

"Should I?" At the sight of the mask, Robin's hands instinctively pulled the sheets more completely over is exposed body. Did they think the thin cloth would protect him?

"Heh," The eye behind the mask smiled, "Most of my enemies call me Deathstroke, but you, heh, you… however, may consider me family. Call me, 'Slade'…for now at least…"

A sudden sharp, burning pain wrenched in Dick's temple at the sound of the name. _That name…_

Slade walked over to the bedside, set the book down on the corner of the bed near Dick, and fished out a syringe and a vial of red liquid from of the cabinet by the bedside.

"What are you doing?" Dick cringed at the sight of the needle as Slade carefully measured out a fixed amount and forced the bubbles out the top of the needle with the plunger.

"This is part of our 'mending.' How else do you think you healed from a stab wound to the heart in only two weeks?" Slade nodded to the three and a half inches of stitches across Robin's pale chest, "Wonderful medicine. But you may feel a little fatigued until you get used to the dose. However, some argue that it has the severe side-effects of memory loss and sometimes permanent psychosis."

Slade heard a small gasp come from Dick. The mercenary smiled under his mask, "Don't worry, Dick, you have nothing to worry about, I've used this many a time myself." With that Slade quickly pushed the needle into Robin's arm. Dick grimaced as he felt a slight heaviness wash over him.

"So where am I exactly?" Robin looked around the room after it stopped swaying. It was a simple room and was oddly similar to his at Wayne manor save for the absence of certain childhood touches.

"You are currently at my estate." After throwing the spent syringe away, Slade folded his arms behind him in a proper manner and walked over to the other side of the bed, "Two weeks ago we found you battered and unconscious, in the graveyard of in an abandoned church not too far from here."

_Crack! Bang! "That's all I know, I swear! Please don't hurt me anymore!"_

"_I'm sorry Dick, but I can't let you leave. Not until you tell me what you're doing!" POW! PAH! "Stop, Dick! He's going to kill you if you don't stop!" _All at once the memories of the church confrontation with Two-Face and Batman flooded back to him. Robin pinched the space in between his eyes at the intensity of it all.

"You remember that night don't you?" Slade continued, "From what I saw when I found you I suspect that…hmpf, no. I shouldn't say such things." The split mask turned away from the boy.

Dick brought his face out from behind his palm, "Say what? Please, tell me what happened."

An unseen smirk flickered across Slade's mouth before he turned back to face the boy again with a sincere look in his eye, "I'm sorry to say that I suspect that he, Batman, was done with you, my dear Robin. So much that after a conflict in which he beat you horribly, he simply left you for dead…"

Robin's eyes widened. _NO! I wasn't true…was it? "I'm sorry, Robin,"_ Bruce's voice came back to him, "_But this isn't working anymore! You're not welcome here anymore...Leave the Robin costume…"_

_Pow! Crack! "Stop, Dick! He's going to kill you if you don't stop!"_

"No," Dick whispered, the memory of Batman patting him on the back once flitted across his mind, "Batman wouldn't…" _Or would he?_

"Believe what you will, Robin, But if I may say so, I think it was only a matter of time," Slade's cool voice brought Dick back to reality, "However, if you wish, you can stay here until you heal. In fact I insist you stay and become one of my students. I've seen you in action, Robin, and I'm very impressed. No doubt with the proper teacher you would be…magnificent…"

"What exactly did you say you did again? I mean to own a place like this and a costume like that? Are you like Batman?"

Slade paused for a moment as if to weigh something out before speaking, "If you wish to think about it that way, indeed. But you mustn't worry your pretty little mind with that. Just concentrate on getting better, then we can talk about your future."

"So tell me…Slade," It was weird to say that; it was like sand in his mouthRobin's eyes focused again at the foot of the bed, "Why is it that I don't know who you are but you seem to know everything about me?"

"While we were treating you for your injuries you were going in and out of consciousness," the mercenary explained smoothly, as if he were a tape recorder, "You probably don't remember but when you were conscious my doctor and I asked you questions about yourself to be sure that no further damage was occurring."

"And you said you saved me, right?" Dick fingered a length of stitches on his bare chest, he could feel his heart beat beneath his fingertips.

The split masked man nodded.

"Then if you saved me what's with the chain?" Robin shifted his foot taught against the shackle.

Slade glanced down at Dick's bound foot, one of the few times he had taken his eyes off the boy since they started talking, "Oh that. You see, as I said before you were going in and out of consciousness. During that time I believe you were in a more dream like state and when you were haunted with what seemed like horrible nightmares you would often move and sometimes even try to foolishly runaway. We couldn't have that, especially when you were in the middle of treatment. Previously we had tied you down completely, but as you struggled less and the sleepwalking became less severe we've reduced it to that one shackle."

"I see," Robin wiggled his toes, "Do I really need it still? Could you take it off?"

"Oh I can do a lot of things, Robin," The mercenary bent over and leaned in close to the boy. A chill ran up and down his skin when he felt Slade's slick glove creep under the thin cotton sheet and rub across his firm stomach. Through the one eyehole on the left side of the metal mask, Robin could see Slade's eye gleaming. "But I don't know, personally I think it best we keep it this way."

Backed up against the head board Robin turned his head away so he wouldn't have to look into that gleaming eye any longer. His breathe quickened when he heard the light clicks of Slade undoing the clasps to his metal mask. Dick could feel his cheeks grow flushed and begin to burn.

Suddenly a knock came at the door, "Sir?" A voice said on the other side.

Slade's hand fluidly clipped his mask back into place while the other snapped up the book that he had put down on the other side of Robin earlier. Slade stood up, "Come in."

A white haired with a pure white mustache appeared in the open doorway.

"Yes, Wintergreen?" Slade said the sly tone leaving his voice.

"Your son, Grant, is back from," Wintergreen cleared his throat, "… his trip. He's downstairs right now."

"What!" Before going any further Slade glanced at Robin as if he suddenly remembered that Dick was conscious now, "Nevermind. I'll deal with it." Slade's voice became calm again, "In the mean time, Wintergreen, when Dick is feeling up to it, show him where his belongings are and bring him some clothes. We need to have him properly dressed for dinner." Slade's blue- grey eye smiled again at Robin before he left.

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**Author's notes:** So a friend of mine has recently pointed out that I've been a horrible fanfic writer in that I've been terribly anti-social: I haven't been responding to comments nor leaving many comments on fics I read (sweat drop). Me being a newbie at this, I had not even thought about this and I now apologize for being a fanfic hermit. Although it would be awkward to reply back to the old comments you guys left (though a part of me wants to go back and do that) it's not too late to fix this. From now on I will do my best to reply back to most if not all comments and questions. I've seen some authors post the replies at the end of chapters too…would you guys like it that way or just rather it be like an e-mail thing…(Gah! I'm such a newbie!). Sorry!

Thank you everyone for leaving me stellar comments in the past, though! I'm glad you all who left me comments like what you've read so far! I'm here for your guys' entertainment so thank you so much fore letting know how you feel.

Anyway, this is getting way too long… As always any pointers and comments (good and/or bad) about the chapter (or fanfic-ing in general) are much appreciated.


	17. Chapter 15: The Wilsons

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

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"So, after a long, arduous journey the prodigal son returns," Slade's cool voice became razor sharp as he descended the stairs into the sitting room, "That's funny, because I thought I told him never to come back again."

"Still can't face me that you gotta wear that god damned mask, huh?" A tall, clean cut man turned away from the mini bar a scotch on the rocks in his hand. A smirk almost identical his father's gripped his face, "What's wrong, old man? Aren't you happy to see your first born son?"

Slade's stormy blue eye narrowed, "My eldest son is dead. Now get out."

"Oh yeah that's right," Grant sipped his amber drink and frowned when he swallowed, "last you heard I was killed by the Teen Titans after the HIVE hired me to eliminate them. Heck, I guess I shouldn't blame you because after that, even I thought I was dead," His hand subconsciously touched a spot on his chest directly over his heart before throwing back the last of his scotch into his gullet. He coughed then continued as he refilled his glass with more scotch at the mini bar, "But I'm back, Old Man, and for some reason I thought you'd actually welcome me back for once. But I guess I was wrong…guess you'd rather have me dead…" Grant turned his back on his father, his short blond hair falling into his eyes as he took another sip of his drink, "But that doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is that at least a third of this estate belongs to me because that's what Mother left me and I won't let you take away what's mine."

Suddenly the young ex-soldier's sad, dark blue eyes perked up. The living room door was ajar and he could see Dick and Wintergreen coming down the steps, heading toward the dining room, "My," Grant said his eyes locked on Dick as he passed the room, "aren't you a pretty one?" The tall man smirked when Dick stopped in his tracks and glanced at him. _Who was he talking to? _"Still trying to replace me, Dad?" The blue eyed man kept his gaze on Dick.

Robin jumped when Slade quickly came up to the door and abruptly slid it closed with a firm hand.

**Chapter 15: The Wilsons**

"Mr. Wintergreen," Robin peeped as he scurried back up behind the white haired man.

"Please," the older man paused and chuckled before continuing to walk, "Just call me, 'Wintergreen.' There is no need for 'Mr.'" The accent and rhythm of his speech strangely reminded Dick of slightly less formal version of Alfred.

"Wintergreen," Dick nodded, his hand straightening out the collar of his button down shirt he had just thrown on moments ago, "Who was that?"

"That," William Wintergreen raised an eyebrow while he spoke as if he were making Dick privy to gossip, "is Mr. Grant Wilson, Slade's eldest son, who until now, we had thought had perished at the hands of…" he mumbled the last part to the corridor in front of them that Dick couldn't make out the rest of the sentence.

Robin let his wide eyes wander around as he continued to follow the Englishman. The place was huge and rivaled the size of Wayne Manor. Hunting trophies and mounted animal heads lined some parts of the corridor and for some reason Dick's heart quickened when he saw them. The place was definitely darker than Wayne manor; the rich mahogany wood beams and siding of the house were stained a much darker red; and the lights were more old fashioned…dimmer; things also appeared duster, and less attended to. Dick couldn't put his finger on it, but the entire place felt like it had been warped by age from a radiant home into a shadow where things were forgotten.

"It'll be best if you not mention Grant to Colonel Slade," Wintergreen piped up again, glancing back at the young man, "You see they are so much alike that they hate each other. But don't tell the Colonel I told you that."

Robin nodded though his eyes were still wandering.

"He actually has two other children, Joseph and Rose," Wintergreen continued, "Joseph was unfortunately the victim of…a tragic accident and is currently bed ridden. In fact it is probably for the best you don't mention him to Slade either. He blames himself _and_ Grant for a lot of things, that being one of them.

"As for Rose," William's mustache curved with his lips in a slight smile, "She is the youngest and about your age, I'd say. She doesn't talk much, so there is not much more I can really say about her other than that she stays with Joseph most of the time."

"I see."

"But you needn't be concerned about them. Everyone usually keeps to themselves and at times I am amazed that four other people besides Slade and I live here."

"You mean three don't you? Rose, Joseph, and now Grant?"

"Oh, I almost forgot, Slade has one other student much like yourself. Her name is Terra Markov. I could say more about that one, but I'm sure with time you will get to know her."

"I see, so how about you? Are you…" How was Dick supposed to ask this?

"I am _not_ a butler, Mr. Grayson," The older man suddenly stopped walking for a moment. He didn't turn, "I am doing this because the Colonel asked me to do this. If you think that I am like your friend Mr. Pennyworth at Wayne Manor, then you are gravely mistaken for I am _not_ here for you." He started walking again, "Then again, I always thought that a true friend would have the decency to tell his mate that his adoptive father was shamelessly shagging his girlfriend," Wintergreen slipped his hands into his pockets in an almost smug manner, "That is, assuming the bloke has eyes and ears capable of seeing what's in front of him every day."

The younger man stopped following the Englishman for a moment, his eyes widening in shock. _Alfred…….you saw them every day and you…no Alfred you would have…but you didn't…_

"Come along, boy! Don't just stand there!" Wintergreen called back to Robin.

Dick snapped his head up when he realized that the white haired man was nearly at the end of the hall. He quickened his pace to catch up. Neither he nor Wintergreen said anything more until they had reached the dinning room.

"Ah," Wintergreen gestured at the room. A long, oak table spanned the great room and was set with three sets of silverware and covered dishes, "here we are. Have a seat if you will. Hopefully Colonel Slade will join us soon."

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**Author's notes: **Ugh! This is such a **boring** chapter! Sorry, guys! Also sorry for the long wait. I was trying to figure out how to pack in more events that I had planned into this chapter (yup I have a plan!), but, despite much brain power and struggling I couldn't get any of it to mesh well. So hence we have more of explanatory/introduction chapter.

Also, I hope I didn't scare everyone off last time when I said that I would respond to all comments…lol…(sweatdrop)

Keep reading and stay tuned! I'll try to update sooner with a more exciting chapter since this one is such a lagger…I know these character run downs were kinda quick…so if any relationship is unclear, let me know too!


	18. Chapter 16: Curious

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

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"Ah," Wintergreen gestured at the great dining room, "here we are. Have a seat if you will. Hopefully Colonel Slade will join us soon."

**Chapter 16: Curious**

Despite Wintergreen's hopeful remark, Mr. Slade didn't come down to dinner that night nor any night, for that matter.

"Master Slade sends his deepest regrets that he will not be joining us," Wintergreen informed one night and every night there after, "However he hopes that the food and especially the desserts and sweets are to your liking." He never mentioned the other inhabitants of the vast mansion, but they never came down to the dining room to eat either.

Dick didn't mind eating alone though. At Wayne Manor he had, long ago, grown accustomed to such solitude during meals. Besides, Dick saw Slade enough throughout the day, for once he had become well enough Slade had begun to train him; "physical rehabilitation as part of our 'mending.' We mustn't let your skills or body atrophy," is how Slade explained it, since Dick hadn't exactly agreed to become his student, yet.

Even so, the word Dick heard the most from Slade was, "Again!" Slade always wanted him to repeat his combative sets and routines, heavily emphasizing discipline and control, even though this was supposedly only "physical therapy."

To tell the truth, Slade's split-faced mask really gave Dick the creeps. Nevertheless, _if_ Slade ever came to dinner that would mean he would have to take it off to eat…and though Robin had been horrified at the thought of Slade doing so the first night he had arrived—that night when he had his shivering back against the headboard of the bed—a part of him came to yearn to see what was underneath that metal mask.

Perhaps his curiosity is what could explain the pang of disappointment he would develop in the pit of his chest every time Wintergreen "informed" him that he would be dining alone.

Dick didn't really wonder where Slade went after he would wash up for dinner. He knew. Slade would always pass him off to Wintergreen and then head to his study on the second floor. Once on his way up to bed after a long night of practice, Dick noticed a ribbon of orange, mellow light spilling out across the floor from Slade's study. The door had not been shut all the way and Dick could see Slade's dark silhouette sitting pensively in a large leather chair facing the fireplace, an amber drink condensing on the arm rest. The hollow half shell of his mask lied on the end of the other armrest, facing upwards, the light from the flames dancing across its smooth surface. His hand hovered above the mask, swinging a glistening necklace with a ring looped through it in a pendulum pattern.

_Slade wasn't wearing his mask! _Dick crept closer to the door and squinted. The gap was just barely the width of his eye. Dick fearfully held his breath. Maybe he would finally get to see Slade's face. However, Slade's back was to him and the dim glow of the fire only allowed him to make out the edges of Slade's short golden hair. As curiosity overcame his fear, Dick leaned in closer to the crack in the door, a part of him longing for the man to turn around.

After tracing Slade's pensive silhouette, Robin's eyes eventually locked onto the swinging necklace. There was something familiar about that neckla—a sudden sharp pain twisted in his head.

"Addie…." Slade whispered to a painted portrait mounted above the fireplace.

Dick let his eye wander around the room when Slade still showed no signs of moving from the old chair. Large game heads covered the walls, casting demonic shadows across the walls. Robin shivered, a sweat breaking out on his brow as his eyes lingered on the severed heads.

"_Robin…"_ a human head, lathered in crimson blood, whispering his name flashed across his mind. The burning sensation in his head clawed deeper into his brain. Dick squeezed his eyes shut. After the pain passed he couldn't remember what he was thinking about.

When he opened his eyes again, Robin realized that Slade had gotten up from his chair! Dick jumped back from the door and pinned himself flat against the wall adjacent to the doorway. Yet, Slade didn't exit the room. Instead, Robin heard rummaging occurring from within.

Leaning back up to the crack in the doorway, Dick saw Slade kneeling at a dark, old trunk opposite the door, his back still towards him. Carefully, Slade applied 3 keys to the 3 locks, one on each edge, of the large trunk. Dick leaned in even closer to the slit as Slade gently lifted the lid.

"Naughty boy, "Dick started at a drunken voice that came from behind him, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Grant snickered at the astonished boy as he stumbled down the dark hallway towards his room. Dick turned his nose aside as the young ex-soldier walked past in a futile effort to avoid the thick bitter smell of alcohol and cigarettes rolling off the young man. Grant's rumpled, white dress shirt was open at the top, exposing a thick white scar across his muscular chest. In the ribbon of orange light from Slade's study, Dick also caught a glimpse of many hot pink kiss marks riddling Grant's neck and cheeks. A limp cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth also smeared with hot pink lip stick. The city clubs must have been quite kind to Jump City's new rich playboy.

Grant leaned against his bedroom door and hunched his shoulders as he fumbled for his keys. _Chink!_ "God damn…" He slurred when he dropped them on the carpet. He held onto the door knob as if to steady himself before reaching for the keys. Despite this, he effectively slid to the ground after them.

Dick glanced back at Slade's study, then, as if he couldn't stand such a pitiful site, walked over to Grant, picked up his keys, and extended his hand to help him up. Getting closer to the drunkard, Dick could make out the purple outline of puffy bruise developing on the left side of drunk's chin.

"Man…" the withered cigarette bobbed in the corner of Grant's mouth, "Fuck off!" He dramatically swatted Dick's hand away, "Get away from me, you fagot. I don't need you! I don't need anyone…"

"Robin, what are you doing?" Dick turned to see Slade with his mask on again, standing in the doorway of his study. The trunk behind him, in the room, was closed and locked once more.

"You should be in bed," Slade said firmly, flashing a scowl at Grant on the floor, "Oh! And, Dick, I have something for you." He reached into a pouch at his hip and fished out a bottle of red, translucent pills, "Here, take these. Yesterday, while going through your medicine cabinet I saw you were running low. Don't forget to take one before you go to bed. You need it to stay healthy."

Dick took the bottle and glanced at Grant, then back at Slade, nodding, "I understand," he said. The keys made another "clink" noise when he dropped them back to the ground.

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_(Three months later…)_

The sliver moonlight crept though the horizontal, bamboo blinds of the dojo style sparing room.

"Heh," Terra smirked wolfishly at Dick as they sized each other up. A tense silence settled across the room. _Are you going to make a move or shall I?_

"Ahhhhhh!" Terra screamed has she ran at him, her bare feet pounding across the wood matted floor.

_Whiff! Bang!_ Quickly, Robin dodged her attack and pinned her to the floor in one swift move. For a moment during the pin their faces were but inches away from each other. Terra's eyes narrowed as she tried to blow her blond bangs out of her eyes, "I hate you!" her eyes said to him.

_Why?_ Robin's eyes saddened as he eased his grip and let her up,

"Very good, Robin. You're a man after my own heart," Slade clapped slowly, his exposed eye smiling, "you saw an opening and you took it right away."

"Hmpf," Terra tossed her hair and walked back towards the other end of the sparing room.

"Still, though you haven't lost to Terra, yet, you lack control," Slade placed his hand on Dick's shoulder, "You need to be more aggressive, Dick. Stop waiting around for her to come to you. When you want something, you must not hesitate. You must take it."

"_Moderation, Dick,"_ Batman's voice echoed in Dick's head, "_If you want this mask, you can't let your emotions get in the way…"_

"Dick, listen to me!" Slade almost shouted.

Robin blinked, "Sir? Batman said…I mean… I'm sorry I didn't mean to…I—"

"Still attached to the past, are we? Forgetting what they did you? How I saved you?" Slade turned away with a frustrated air as if he were trying not to blow up. All of the sudden a cool tone entered his voice, "I know that it's hard to undo what they did to you. But my dear Robin, let me show you something." He placed his hand on Dick's shoulder again.

As they began to exit the training room Terra, having gathered her training supplies began to follow. "No, Terra," Slade glanced at the girl, "you stay here and give me, oh, 30 more routine sets."

"30?! But, master…" Terra objected.

"Don't whine, Terra, you have only yourself to blame here," He and Robin kept walking, "Your consistent losses to Robin are making me rethink the true extent of your abilities."

Terra viciously threw down her bag. Dick could feel her scowling eyes burning into the back of his head as they left the room.

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"Robin, you remember that night at St. Jude Catholic Church, don't you? That night you confronted Two-Face?" Slade brought Robin into his study. The air in the room was frigidly cold and made Dick's skin prickle and his heart rate quicken. Slade gestured to a seat directly opposite a flat panel video monitor on the right wall.

The trunk that Dick had seen Slade rummaging in three months ago was covered by a black sheet, now. A tall bookcase or wardrobe in the corner of the room adjacent to the flat panel screen was also covered in the same manner. _What was in that trunk?_

"The audio is quite poor, but…watch closely, Robin." Slade stood behind the chair and pointed at the screen. Dick brought his eyes up from the tarp covered chest. _When have I heard him say that befor--_ Before Robin could finish his thought the video started.

"You know, I really admire your tenacity" the cold line whispered out of the speakers. Dick's eyes widened. "Ah!" "Oh my God!" "Flank him!" "He's too fast! He's—ah!" "Jesus!" The video continued.

Dick could feel the cold air enter his mouth as it fell open. _Is this me? This grainy figure swinging a shining Bo staff in the night…_

"You see, Robin?" Slade smiled widely behind his mask, "I've told you that I've seen you in action. This is what you're truly capable of…we must awaken that warrior again, Robin…you must abandon what the Batman taught you. He taught you well, but only enough to retain control over you. So you see, you must abandon his conventions, to become free…to attain the power you wish. To taste the vengeance against Two-Face that Batman so eagerly took away from you. Don't you see? He tempted you with power and promise, but then only to take it all way from you; Your vengeance, your mask…even Barbra…," He paused, "Now I know it may hurt, but you have to cut them loose to get what you truly want…"

"This video…where did you get it?" Dick's astonished mouth eventually formed a sentence.

_B-beep!_ A timer in Slade's pocket went off. "Ah," he ignored Robin's question, "It's time for your medicine." Slade fished out a bottle of pills from a pouch at his hip and poured a glass of water from a pitcher at the coffee table.

"I've become your student haven't I? Without knowing it…" Robin said distantly before washing the capsule down with the glass of water.

"Heh," Slade smiled, setting down the pitcher, "Do you wish to be?"

Dick didn't look at the split mask. Instead he stared at the trunk wrapped in the dark tarp until the brief fatigue of the medicine washed over him. _That box…_

"Think about it, Robin," Slade said when Robin didn't answer, "Now, off to bed with you." He led the young man out of the room by the arm, "But, honestly, think about it, Robin. I want nothing more than to help you." His gleaming eye smiled as he shut the door to the study behind Robin.

Dick stared at the closed door for a moment before walking to his room.

"Hehehe." Terra's dark laugh reached Dick's ears. Still clad in her white training robes, Terra came up to walk beside Dick.

Dick sighed and began to walk to his room, "What do you want, Terra?"

"Nothing more than to help you," She mocked, "That's funny, he said the same exact thing to me…well that is before _you_ came along."

"Please, just leave me alone," Dick quickened his stride and walked a little head of the girl.

"My haven't we become all stuck up within the last 15 minutes? Look," She touched Dick's shoulder causing him to stop and turn to face her, "it's not worth it. Slade may say it is, but it's not."

"No…no…you just want to be his only, star pupil, again."

"Heh," she flashed her teeth, "that may be so. But I have nothing left to lose. You on the other hand…heh…_you _used to be the _Robin, _the mighty _"Boy Wonder!" _Now look at yourself. You're not allowed to leave or go outside because you're still 'mending,' and not well enough, yet. I'll bet the only excitement you're getting now is reading or watching the news reports about the recent string of government official and diplomat murders. You eat, you sleep, you take your medicine, heck I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't shit unless he told you to. And you're not even his official 'apprentice' yet. What kind of power is he endowing you with when you just do whatever he tells you to do?"

After a stiff silence, Dick shook his head and turned his back on the young woman, "Good night, Terra."

"You know I'm right!" She shouted after him. Dick kept walking, but deep in his heart, he sadly knew she was.

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**Author's notes:** What did you think? OK. OK. Not as exciting as I had promised in the notes of last chapter, but still… it's a development chapter…I hope I didn't disappoint and that you got a better feel for the characters in the Wilson mansion…I wonder what's in that box in the study…heh…

Well let me know what you think! Any major things that don't make sense with the way I'm going with things? Slade is so hard to write when he's not being malicious…lol. Till next time!


	19. Chapter 17: Shadows

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

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_**(The next night…)**_

"Addie…Addie…" Slade found himself whispering over and over again as he scribbled out his notes. His left hand, holding the silver necklace, rhythmically swayed back and forth.

"You know you must really find a lot of comfort in that mask to wear it even when no one's around." At the sound of Grant's voice Slade paused, his pen motionless in mid sentence. Strange, this was the first time that anyone other than Addie had ever come within his presence without his heightened senses detecting them first.

"Get out of my house," Slade growled to his notes as he started moving his pen along again.

"Heh," Grant ignored his father's response and helped himself to the Cognac on the coffee table. "Wow, that's quite an interesting necklace you got there," he said after pouring his drink.

In the reflection of the window, the split-masked man could see the ghostly outline of his son standing behind him. The young man was clad in a handsome tuxedo; however, having returned home from the formal event, he had undone the top button to his dress shirt as well as the white bow tie that hung loosely off his neck.

"10 bucks says that it isn't your's…or mom's," Grant walked further into the study, sipping a dry martini. He slipped his hand into his pocket and smirked in manner eerily like his father.

Grant leaned up against the wall next to the desk, his eyes scanning the length of the cloth covered bookcase or wardrobe in the corner then settling on the floor, "Tell me, why don't you, the fearsome Deathstroke, just kill me yourself if you want me gone so bad? You hate me enough, don't you?" He chuckled sadly as he tilted the his glass back, "As a mistake, I'm not supposed to be alive anyways, right?"

Slade's jaw tightened and, after a second pause, he began to write harder and more quickly.

"But I guess I'm already ghost to you," the tuxedo clad man glanced at the scribbled notes and papers that surrounded Slade before he left the room. "Just, what are you planning, Father? Why do you need that boy so badly?" He trailed off as his eyes finally locked onto the weathered trunk at the foot of the desk.

**Chapter 17: Shadows**

"…_you used to be the Robin, the mighty 'Boy Wonder,"_ Terra's voice from last night reverberated in his head,_ "Now look at yourself… You eat, you sleep, you take your medicine, heck I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't shit unless he told you to. And you're not even his official 'apprentice' yet…You know I'm right…"_

"Bah…what does she know?" Dick bit his lip and lowered his head. He gripped the edge of the cream colored, bathroom counter with both his hands.

"_You need more control, Robin!"_ Batman had once told him, _"Remember, power comes from control…you are nothing without it."_ Robin felt his mouth whisper the last part to himself.

"_Forgetting what they did to you?"_ Slade's previous outrage suddenly interjected in his brain.

"_Oh, Bruce!"_ Barbra's sensual swoon came back to him.

"_You must cut them loose to get what you truly want…abandon his conventions…"_ Slade's voice came back, _"I want nothing more than to help you…"_

"…_you know I'm right…"_

"…_power comes from control…"_

"_Abandon…cut them loose!"_

"_you are nothing…"_

"_Oh, Bruce!"_

"_you need more control…"_

"_YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!"_

"_POWER COMES FROM CONTROL!"_

Dick closed his fist around the capsule and squeezed his eyes shut.

That night Robin stopped taking the red pills. That night, and in the many nights that followed, he hid them in the hollow lamp on the nightstand.

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**_(1 month later…)_**

"Ready, Ricky?"

_Ricky? _Dick looked up from the groaning wooden plank beneath his feet. Looking around in the bright light with squinted eyes, Robin barely made out the silhouettes of three figures standing before him. Were they even human? One was massive, iridescent, and had an electronic red eye. The woman figure of the group wasn't even touching the ground and just stared at him with bright, gleaming green eyes. The third was considerably shorter and moved about with cat like motions. It had fangs that sometimes glistened in the bright light.

"Robin?" one of them said.

"Who are you?" Dick whispered taking a step back. Though he couldn't see their faces he could somehow tell they were horrified, "Why are you looking at me like that—"

_Snap! _The dry wood platform gave way and he was falling into endless darkness.

"Uh!" Robin let out the dead noise when he slammed into the stage floor. When he opened his heavy eyes, he, once again, found himself bathed in bleached white light. A thick, dark rain fell from the sky and soaked him to the core. It dripped heavily off the sagging telephone wires that criss-crossed overhead and was hot to touch. _Splick! _It was so thick and warm that Robin began to wonder if it was really rain. _ Or was it something else?_

_Thump! Badump! _As he pondered this and his eyes regained focus, Dick sickeningly became aware of the naked, dismembered body parts now showering down from above. With mortified eyes and chest shattering heartbeat, Dick frantically tried to get up despite the dead weight piling up on his shoulders. "Raven!" he felt his lungs begin to burn as he called out the name infinitely, "Raven! I need you! I need you now!" _He was going to suffocate!_

All of the sudden, the dead weight on his back disappeared. Instead, he now felt gentle arms, draped in silky white cloth, wrap around him warmly from behind. The sweet smell of roses filled the air as he relaxed into the embrace. "Don't worry, I am here…I have you…my darling…" a voice whispered tenderly into his ear as the soft arms fastened a familiar necklace around his neck.

Dick slowly opened his eyes as he felt the warm caress back away. He peered up at the person standing in front of him. A pure white cloak that was so large that it blanketed the entire stage hung loosely off the figure, hiding all parts of the person's body except for their strong nose and chin. The figure held out an open hand, "I think it best if you stay with me." The voice deepened.

"Raven?" Angel white feathers swirled around them as Robin paused for a moment, "Is that you?" When he took the person's hand, the pure white cloak slid to the floor. The bright golden light surrounding them intensified. Dick squinted but all he could make out was short golden hair and deep blue eyes…

"Raven?" Dick's eyes snapped open. He subconsciously touched his throat. It was sore and the bird's name was still on his lips. _What did that word mean anyway?_ _Why was he always saying it?_

Had he been screaming it? Dick looked around the dark bedroom, worried. He had to be careful. If Slade heard him, he'd definitely know that Robin was off his dose of pills and having dreams again. And if that happened, Slade would definitely revert back to shackling him to the bed again and reinstate the injection regimens.

Since he had been off the dose Dick still had trouble falling asleep and remembering certain things, but on several occasions like this he would suddenly awake in the middle of the night; drenched in a cold sweat and unsure of the fleeting visions that just had visited him. Often times, despite his efforts to hold onto the intense images, a feverish pain would burn across both his temples and behind his eyes, erasing any memory of the dreams.

This time, however, it was different. After the pain had past, he could still see the golden haired figure with the deep blue eyes gently smiling at him, _"I think it best if you stay with me."_

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Dick lied motionless on top of his twisted sheets contemplating the dream for a while, trying to remember more of it. Rolling over, he coughed and subconsciously brought his hand to his throat, again. Suddenly his eyes widened. His delicate fingers traced a thin metal chain around his neck. Dick's mouth grew drier as his fingertips made their way further down the rough necklace. He gasped slightly when he felt the rigid structure of a smooth metal ring hanging off the chain. It was the necklace he saw Slade holding in his study the other night. _Had he been watching Robin sleep again? Did he put this on him while he slept? Did he know he was having nightmares again? _Dick's shoulders shook as he shuttered at the thought and coughed.

When he inhaled sharply to calm his coughing he thought he detected a hint of cigarette smoke in the air. His throat must have been drier than he thought. Quietly, Robin got out of bed and headed for the kitchen for a glass of water.H

"Robin," Dick started when he entered the hall. He wasn't expecting to run into Slade this late at night, "What are you doing out of bed?" Slade stood just outside his study, the orange light at his back. A girl with flowing silver, white hair stood shyly at his side. That must have been Rose. This was actually the first time he had seen her since his stay at the Wilson mansion. Dick remembered Wintergreen telling him that she was about his age, but looking at her Dick could have sworn she was at least two years younger.

"Uh," Dick explained, "Getting a drink of water, Sir."

"Very well, then. Don't be too long. If you're having trouble sleeping, take an extra dose of your medicine. Trust me, it won't hurt, my dear Robin." His eye smiled at Dick standing barefoot and shirtless in the hall.

"Yes, Sir," Dick rubbed his arms as a shiver ran down his spine.

With that Slade turned to his daughter, who lead him partway down the corridor and into what Robin had come to suspect was Joseph's room. When they opened the door Dick caught a glimpse of a curly haired blonde boy, lying in bed with his eyes closed. Yet, before he could get a better look, Rose, with sad eyes, stepped in front of the door and closed it slowly.

Robin turned to continue down the hall then stopped in his tracks. All of the sudden his eyes lit up. The door to Slade's study stood wide open! Hungry orange light poured out of the open door and drew Dick in like a ignorant moth into the inferno of hell.

The mysterious trunk at the foot of Slade's note laden desk sat uncovered and unlocked. Robin quickly glanced over his shoulder to reaffirm that he was alone. Gingerly, with hands as steady as a thief's he tilted the lid of the box back.

A slight smile spread across his face as he gazed at the vibrant red Robin suit nestled among a heap of loose leaf notes and diagrams. _So that's where he had been keeping it…_ Some of the note crammed papers spilled out of the chest as he brought the costume out of the chest, but Dick paid them no heed. He closed his eyes and buried his face in the cool, soft fabric, breathing in as much of the scent as he could. It still smelled like…like somewhere familiar. A nerve pinched in his cranium. The salty smell of the ocean came to mind…

He nostalgically rubbed the cloth in between his fingertips as the thought of taking the costume ran through his mind. Dick glanced over his shoulder again. The hallway was still and silent.

But, just as he brought his gaze back to his old costume, something else in the corner of the study caught his eye. A crystal beam of light was peaking out from behind the dark tarp that covered the bookcase or wardrobe in the corner. Before Dick knew it, he was deeper in the study and his hand was pulling down the massive black cloth. As the billowing tarp cascaded to the floor Dick's mouth fell open. The Robin costumed slipped out of his hands and crumpled at his feet.

There, right in front of him in a glass case hung the most intricate and amazing suit Dick had ever seen in his life. Dare he say it looked greater than even the Bat suit?

The costume was midnight black and made of a cloth that was deceptively tattered looking. Dick leaned in close to the crystal glass and stared at the stark white skull shape sewn into the full face mask of the suit. Erie streams of crimson fabric had been sewn in at the corners of the skull mask, making the skull look as if it were bleeding from the eyes. A dark red X marking was slashed unevenly, almost viciously at the top of the skull mask, with part of the X crossing over the left eye hole. A similar, larger X marred the costume's center mass. The longer Dick's eyes lingered on the cloth X's the more and more his eyes thought they were seeping wounds. As if his hand had a life of its own, he felt it slowly reach out towards the bone white mask, despite the crystal glass in front of it.

"Beautiful," Dick stiffened at the sound of Slade's smooth voice coming from behind him. The hair on the back his neck stood on end as he felt Slade come up closer to his bare back, "isn't it? The Red X suit?"

Robin's mouth fell open as if he wanted to explain himself, but nothing but short silent gasps came out.

"She is, indeed, a powerful suit, Dick and it can be your's one day! But you're not ready for such power, my dear Robin. Not yet…" He placed his hands on Dick's soft shoulders.

Robin lowered his head, his cheeks growing hot as Slade turned him around to face him straight on. Slade gently pushed him against the adjacent bookcase and cocked his head, his ice blue eye smiling, practically snickering behind the smooth mask, "But you know what? Why don't you try it on, anyway, Dick?" He thumbed Robin's chin, forcing the boy to peer up at him. His grey-blue eye gleamed hungrily, "Try it on…just for me!"

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**Author's notes:** Well I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think! Were any parts confusing? Lemme know!

Also, Sorry to keep all you who have been waiting so long for the Red X suit to come in! Things should now pick up after this chapter…or at least I hope so. Till next time!

P.S. I must give a shout out to my dear buddy **LilangLuha**! Check out her FMA (Roy X Ed) fic it's real cute and funny and hawt! Heh, for those times I let you down in the amount of shonen-ai I have so far…(I'm building to it, honest!). Also for an even hawter and shocking fic check out **kaitoumarron**'s YnM fic! Or if you want something sweeter and just as nerve racking her hikago ones are quite addictive…


	20. Chapter 18: TeacherMaster

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

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"Try it on…just for me!"

_Click!_ With a flick of several hidden switches along the bookshelf, Slade caused the corner of the study to slide back and invert. The other side of this secret passageway was dramatically different from the rest of the mansion. Metal panels lined the walls and floor, reminding Robin of the cold, dark Batcave.

**Chapter 18: Teacher…Master…**

Dick's body trembled against the bookcase as he felt Slade lightly tugging at the drawstring of his pants, undoing the delicate knot The split-masked man did this without letting go of the young man's chin, making the boy see him and only him while he did this. Goosebumps prickled along Dick's body when the cool air of the room hit the back of his legs. Slowly, Slade's fingertips worked their way in between the elastic of his under pants.

"Sir, please…" Robin managed to whisper, his cheeks flushed, "don't..." He held his breath, a tears forming at the corners of his eyes as the undergarment slid smoothly past his knees.

"…perfect match…" Slade mumbled to himself, his smile widening beneath his mask as he looked the young man up and down, "Hold still, dear little Robin…"

Unable to look away from Slade's penetrating eye, Dick squeezed his eyes shut.

_Chink!_

"Ouch!" Dick snapped his eyes open after Slade cut him with a small knife across the scar on his chest, making an "X." Before he could say anything more, the split-masked man had released his jaw and continued to make quick slices across along his body: one at the corner of both shoulders, one on each forearm and bicep, one across each thigh and calf. "Step out of your pants," he said briefly before lifting each of Dick's feet and making small cuts on the bottoms of the young man's feet. Finally, he took Robin's trembling hands and wrapped them around the small blade before pulling the blade through to slice them open.

Slade then removed the Red X suit from its case and pressed a small button on its collar. There was a small hiss and, like magic, a seam appeared down the back of the suit, falling open under the weight of the fabric. "Quick, Robin, before you wounds clot. Get in."

Though perplexed at what was happening, Dick placed one foot into the dark shadow that was the inside of the suit. He flinched briefly at the shockingly cold interior of the costume. It was cold, slick, and unlike any material he had ever felt before.

"You see," Slade spoke as the young man slipped on the rest of the body suit, "The medicine I gave you has many more purposes than making you heal quickly. It actually contains a compound, Xynothium, which is in your blood now. The suit actually runs on this chemical and since it is in you, it allows you to bond with the suit and control it at your will. I think you'll see what I am talking about in a minute…"

"Wait…_Xynothi—_" A gasp escaped Dick's lungs before he could finish his sentence. The interior of the suit suddenly clung to his body and sealed the seam that ran down his spine. Robin wasn't sure, but he suddenly got the feeling that the cloth was slowly worming its way into the wounds that Slade had sliced along his body. _It's like it wants my blood…_ His heart quickened as he could swear that he was feeling the wounds start to tear open further.

Slade chuckled playfully at the expression the young man's face then continued, "Don't be alarmed, my boy, she's just getting to know you better. That's why I had to cut you this time so you could bond with her. We won't have to do this every time, but…" Slade trailed off, "Now Robin," he held up the final piece, the stark, white skull mask, "after you put this on, there's no turning back. She'll belong to you and you're going to belong to her once you put this on. Do you understand? You are sure you want incredible power?"

Slade slipped his hand behind Dick's jaw again and cradled his face as he made another "X" shaped cut on his forehead, "Don't worry…this isn't going to scar," he said half to himself and half to Robin.

"Yes…" Dick took the mask in his hands and stared at the darkness that was the inside of the mask, "I understand."

But in reality, he didn't. Robin wasn't prepared for what happened after he pulled the shroud of a mask over his head.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Dick threw his head back and arched his spine screaming so loud and so long that his chest felt as if was going to explode. However, he knew that no matter how hard he wailed no one would hear him. His eyes began to burn.

A deafening inhuman sound ricochet throughout his mind and was excruciating as the feeling of the cloth forcing and pulling themselves into his wounds. _It really wasn't doing that was it? Cloth doesn't do that!_

A hot tingling radiated from the cuts on his body and enveloped him in a never ending wave of searing pain. The pain in his head finally spiked and with great velocity and intensity several images ran across his mind. It was so much, so fast that it hurt to try to focus on them. _"Mommy, look!" "Addie! Don't!" Bang! "Father_!"…It was pain, love, happiness, anger, torture, fear, and psychosis all at once! Dick arched his back further and at one point he thought his sternum was folding in half. "AHAHAHAHHHHHHHHH!" _IT FELT LIKE THE CLOTH WAS ENTERING HIS LUNGS AND TURNING HIM INSIDE OUT!_

"Shhhh….shhhhh," Slade brought his waist in close to the convulsing young man and whispered while stroking Robin's head over and over again, "It's ok, my dear little Robin. It's Ok…just give in…stop resisting…shhhh…That's it…just give in…"

The sound of a second heart beat removed from his own eventually entered Dick's ears. Eventually his heart and wounds began to pulse in rhythm with the second heartbeat. _What was this thing? _A moment later Dick's body tensed up and then relaxed. When he passed out, his head fell back loosely and hung away from Slade.

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Before Dick came to, he knew that Slade was going to try to hit him with a Bo staff. He snapped his eyes open and rolled to the side. Slade's staff sparked and resonated as it hit the floor, leaving a dent in the ground.

Once he was on his feet, Robin wasn't sure what happened. He was only aware that his kicks and strikes were being executed at an alarming rate and with great force! Warmth began to wrap around his knuckles and shins as he progressed with his combos. All of which Slade managed to block and evade.

Yet, eventually he felt his hand wrap around Slade's staff while his foot connected with the mercenary's torso. Tearing the staff out of Slade's clutches he ran at his opponent. However, his body stopped abruptly, his chest heaving, just short of following through with a staff blow to Slade's neck.

"Impressive, Robin," Slade's eye gleamed as it traced the length of the staff.

Dick's eyes widened as he brought his eyes around to the staff. Constricted down its length was a red, viscous ooze. At the end, the ooze had collected and congealed into a shining, red, reaper blade. Right when he thought he would drop the reaper to the floor, the ooze quickly receded back down the length of the staff and into red X-shaped slits in his palms, "….What the?"

"You see Robin?" Slade said happily, "She responds to your very thought."

Dick just stared at the red X in his left palm.

"However, you still need much training to master the suit and use her to her fullest capacity. I am sorry to say that you still lack control, Robin. But with time and hard work, that can be remedied." He placed his hand on Dick's shoulder, "Now, you'll notice a small panel under your left sleeve," He pushed back part of the fabric that covered the underside of Dick's left forearm, "I have your display projected on my computer as well. This panel tells you your heart rate, the suit's and your Xynothium levels, and conditions. If any of these levels drop below certain baselines you must get out of the suit. Otherwise…" Slade didn't complete the sentence before starting another one, "Hmmm…the Xynothium levels in your blood are much lower than I had estimated they would be by now. We may have to increase your dose to two pills tonight."

Dick looked away for a moment.

"But first," Slade continued, "Why don't you have some fun? Take her for a spin out in the city? There's a camera built into the mask and I can monitor you from here."

No words could have described the enormity of the grin that spread across Dick's face at the sound of this.

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It was incredible! Amazing! Dick felt like he was practically flying! His agility, stamina, power, reflexes, everything was heightened! In this suit, nothing would ever be able to stop him.

Dick cracked his knuckles as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. The thugs he had battered five minutes ago didn't stand a chance, but he didn't care. He just wanted more action. He had to find _someone_ who could push him to test the limits of the suit. Slade was too powerful and during the fight when he awoke Dick knew that Slade was going easy on him.

"Heh," Slade's voice hummed in his ear, "your heart rate is increasing, Dick. You like it don't you? The thrill…"

Suddenly Robin halted in his tracks. At the far end of the building Dick spied a figure. Instinctively the lenses of the mask zoomed in on the silhouette. It was a man on his stomach, carefully aiming a sniper rifle at the hotel across the street. Dick gasped and with great speed sprinted to the other side of the building.

"Ok," the dark clad figure whispered to himself, "Good night, ambassador…"

_Shlink!_ _Bang!_ The red shurikens swirled through the air and knocked the barrel of the gun off to the right. The bullet shattered a window, causing panic in the building across the street.

"You must be the diplomat murder they've been talking about on the news," Dick was surprised at the distorted voice that was projected out of the suit, "You're who they call the 'Ravager,' aren't you?"

"Heh, now look what you made me do. You made me miss and now they're going to be looking for me while moving my target into protective custody," the man stood up and dusted himself off, a large katana sheathed at his side, "He's going to be a bitch to knock off now."

The man's handsome black suit reminded Robin of a black version of Slade's costume, except it had two red eye lenses over the slanted eye holes and the mask only covered the top half of the man's face; it was like Batman's cowl minus the pointy ears. Long ribbons of cloth swayed in the wind from the knot that kept the cowl tided to the man's head. With a smirk, he leapt off the building.

"Wait!" Robin looked over the side only to see the man deploy a grappling hook and make his way up the other building, "Oh no you don't!" With great agility Dick alighted off the building and followed. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the dark clad man, again, several buildings down from the hotel.

"My my my, that's a nice costume," The man sneered, "Too bad the Red X costume doesn't belong to you!" He drew his katana and charged Dick, "Where did you get it?" He shouted when Dick blocked the sword with his Bo staff.

"What are you talking about? How did you know its name?" In a flash, the Dick transformed the Bo staff into a reaper once more and swung it at the Ravager who ducked. They locked weapons again

"As I said before, it doesn't belong to you! I know that for a fact! I know its name because I knew the owner!" Somehow, the man in black managed to throw the Xynothium rendered reaper out of Dick's hands. Dick rolled out of the way as the Ravager tried to slice him in half.

"It was given to me." Dick shot out a sticky red X, gumming up the Ravager's feet as he dove for his staff.

"By whom? The owner of that suit is dead!" The dark clad man sliced himself out of the goo.

_Addie!_ The name rang out in Dicks mind causing him to hesitate.

_Pow!_ The Ravager struck Dick across the face so hard he took a couple steps back.

The radio in Dick's ear fizzed, "Robin!" Slade shouted, "I've lost visual, what's happening?" Dick didn't answer. _Enough of this crap_, he thought, catching the Ravager's blade flat in between his palms. At the very whim of his thought red liquid drained out around the sword and with a heave Robin threw the sword over the side of the building.

The Ravager's gaze followed the blade over the side of the building. He turned back to face Dick and smirked playfully.

They fought across the entire cityscape, leaping from building to building; matching each other's moves almost exactly. No one landed a hit that was not equally reciprocated. Most moves, however, were blocked or dodged by both masked men.

"You're good, kid," The Ravager said during the exchange of blows, "I'll give you that."

"Speak for yourself." Dick responded, sweat beading on his brow. _He's blocking everything I throw at him!_ Slade was right, he needed more training.

"Dick, just finish him," Slade hissed in the radio, "Stop messing around. I didn't send you out there _just_ to have fun. Dick!"

Suddenly a hidden smile appeared on Dick's face when he caught the Ravager's leg in his grip. _Fun…_The Ravager hopped once or twice on one leg, smiling back at Dick playfully before trying to wrench his leg free from Dick's grip. _He was actually having fun!_

_Pah!_ With a kick, the Ravager freed his leg and managed to push Dick off the roof.

_Shit!_ Dick instinctively grabbed at his waist for his grappling hook, only to remember that it had been knocked loose earlier in his combative dance with the Ravager. Suddenly a hand came down from the roof and caught Robin's wrist. Dick looked up into the smiling eyes of the Ravager above him.

"Oh no, there's no way I'm letting you get the easy way out." He pulled Dick back up onto the roof and immediately continued to exchange moves with him, again.

All of the sudden during the fight the Ravager tensed up, allowing Dick to jab him twice in the ribs. He touched his ear briefly indicating he too had a radio in his ear. _Just who was on the other end?_ Then, after blocking another of Robin's jabs, smiled and said shortly, "Ok, this is getting a little old. I'm bored now…see you around, kid." With that he flipped off the side of the building, again. This time, however, when Dick looked over the edge of the eave he only saw the empty street below. Strangely, a tenacious smile still gripped his face, "Ravager…"

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"Hmm…" Slade said into the radio, "Looks like your Xynothium battery pack is running low. Luckily there's an industrial lab near your current location that happens to have just received a Xynothium shipment. I'm uploading the coordinates to your suit now and they should appear on the panel on your left arm."

"Heh," Robin laughed for once, "Why do I get the feeling that you planned this all out?" He glanced at the panel and zoomed across the buildings until he reached the coordinate.

When he reached the building top his mouth fell open at the sight of the brightly light sign that read, "WayneTech."

"Wait a minute," Robin crouched in a corner to avoid the surveillance cameras, "I'm in Gotham?"

"Why of course, Robin, didn't you notice how far you traveled in your quest for a challenge? The suit really does increase your speed and endurance, I must say. Anyways, the Xynothium is on the 3rrd floor lab. I suspect I won't need to give you further directions seeing as you are familiar with the area."

"I don't know, Slade…don't you have Xynothium back at the esta—"

"Dick! That is an order," Slade shouted firmly in his ear before suddenly calming his voice, "Besides, we both know that Wayne owes you much more than you think he does. You remember how much he took from you, don't you?"

"_Oh Bruce!"_ Barbara's sexual noises entered his head, again. This time complete with the vivid memory of Bruce on top of her in the Batcave. Dick felt sick to his stomach.

"You don't really have choice right now, anyway," Slade continued, "Your battery will be out before you get back here and as I told you before, if the suit's Xynothium levels drop below a certain point you'll—"

"Ok. Ok…I get it." Dick slid in a path that evaded trajectories of all moving cameras on the roof and delicately removed a duct grating near a skylight.

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With his Xynothium battery refilled and a couple extra charges in a packet at his hip, Dick quietly replaced the grating on the duct. _That was almost too easy…_

Suddenly, Dick's ears perked up at the sound of a pigeon alighting off the A in "Wayne." Yet, Dick knew what that meant and quickly shifted his body to the side just in time to dodge Batman's kick as he swooped down from an adjacent building.

"Just who do you think you are? And where do you think you're going?" Batman growled in his usual dark, supposedly intimidating voice.

"The name's Red X, what's it to you?" For some reason Dick smiled darkly under the skull mask, pleased that his former teacher couldn't recognize him.

"Wow, _that's_ real creative," a familiar woman's voice reached Dick's ears as she swooped down from another building and landed directly to Batman's right.

"Man, this party just keeps getting better and better. Why don't I show you some of my tricks?" With the flurry of his tattered cape he ran at the Bat duo, "Sit!" He shot an expanding red X at Batgirl that constricted around her like a blanket and caused her to slam face first onto the rooftop, "Good girl," Robin taunted as he engaged Batman. Barbara struggled uselessly against the sticky, red goop.

Batman moved quickly, but still was unable to strike Dick, "Come on," Dick snickered, "can't you hit me? X marks the spot!"

Although Batman was blocking each of Dick's successive combos, Dick could tell from the slight stutter in Batman's usually fluid motions that Batman was shocked at the speed and power of his moves, "Just who are you?" Batman managed to say between blocks and dodges. This only made Dick's dark smile widen.

Back in Jump city, Slade's smirk also grew larger at the sound of the confrontation unfolding.

_Fine, I'll give you something to play with…._ Dick reverted back to an old routine that Batman had taught him during his first years as Robin. After this string of familiar attacks, Bruce blinked in recognition, "Dick? Is that you?"

"Took you long enough, old man…"

"What is the meaning of this? Stop!" Batman managed to lock both Dick's arms in a hold, "I won't let you leave with the Xynothium!"

A distorted chuckled came out from behind the skull mask, "Oh, I didn't come for Xynothium Bruce," Dick's arms trembled with tension, "I came for you!" With that he broke free from the hold and continued his onslaught of attacks.

"You know you never could beat me, Dick," Batman ducked and dodged several foot sweeps, "You can't beat me. I taught you everything you know." _Wham! Wham! _Batman finally buried two fists into Dick's gut.

Dick took a couple steps back, holding his sides, his shoulders shaking with laughter, "Not everything, Bruce. Anyways, who said I wasn't just messin' around?" Dick's eyes twinkled as he quickly switched to the newest move Slade had taught him.

_Crack! Pah! Wham!_ Batman was down in three hits, "Did you like that one?" Dick stood over Batman ready to strike him again.

Bruce only spat out a mouthful of blood and quickly jumped up in the air, solidly upper cutting Dick. Batman followed the move with a succession over several other blows, striking Dick across the face with the back of his fist, then with the front of his fist, and the final blow with a solid kick to his abdomen. A bitter taste entered Dick's mouth. As he faltered to the ground, the smile crept back to his lips. _That's it, Bruce…it's better when you struggle…_

When Batman tried to strike him again, Dick caught his leg and, with a heave, threw the older man across the rooftop.

"Ah!" Sparks flew as Batman slammed into the lighted Y of "WayneTech." The light flickered wildly as Dick pulled the groaning Batman out of the plastic and glass by the collar, "Tell me, Bruce," his distorted voice was incredibly icy, "Did you miss me?"

He didn't give his old teacher time to answer before he slammed the Bat cowl into the metal electrical box over and over again. Eventually little droplets of blood began to spurt out each time Bruce's head collided with the metal box.

"Dick! Noooo!" Barbara's tearful plea fell on deaf ears, "You're killing him!" She struggled futilely to free herself from the Xynotium blanket that bound her, "Dick!"

Barbara began to wail incoherently, painfully as she watched Dick proceed. Behind the Red X mask, Dick's pupils dilated. _That scream…_after a while his ears felt as if they were bleeding from the sound, but for some reason, he longed to hear it more. Just as he yearned for Harvey's Dent's torturous shouts, he wished that Barbara's scream would continue forever; that it would match the horrid sound that came to him when his parents died; the sound that had never left him. Searching for that sound again, was the sole reason why his heart continued to beat when it should have died along with his mother and father.

Batman fell into a heap on the ground once Dick finally let go of his head. He wanted Bruce to make that noise, just like Barbara! Though, he knew that no matter what, Batman would never utter that noise. Not for Dick, at least.

A burning warmth returned to Dick's raw knuckles as he began to endlessly pummel the Dark Knight who was starting to lose consciousness and weakly tried to block the punches, "Dick…please…stop…s--"

After exhausting himself, Dick finally wrapped his Red X claws around Bruce's neck, pushing down on the windpipe as hard as sore hands could. Bruce's trembling hands reached up and tried to push Dick's shoulder, his face away from him as Dick closed his grip, but to no avail. Dick only squeezed harder, tears collecting at the corners of his eyes.

_Whiff! Splick!_ Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a Birdarang sailed through the air and sliced Dick's bicep and eventually landed into the gravel at his feet. Dick's eyes widened as they traced the red and yellow Birdarang sitting on the ground. Bruce inhaled deeply and coughed as Dick lost his grip on him. His body lay still, but breathed deeply.

But the Dark Knight was no longer Dick's concern. Looking up, Dick's eyes became wider. His mouth fell open with shock at the sight of a young boy swooping down from the building that Barbara had come from earlier. The boy landed directly opposite of Dick and stood there in a shaky battle ready stance. His hair was a glossy jet black, like Dick's, and he was wearing the unmistakable red and green Robin costume.

**Authors notes: **Extra long chapter everyone! I wanted to get things moving along so here it is! I hope that it wasn't too choppy though…Do you think the fight scene with Batman needs to be more brutal? Would it be more entertaining if it were so? Let me know what you think of the chapter/ your reaction overall!

Also, I noticed that sometimes when I write I tend to skip words because my mind is thinking faster than I type. If I am missing words or have some redundant words let me know! I will fix them! I know my eye sometimes corrects for my mistakes so I end up not seeing or fixing them, so let me know if you see any!


	21. Chapter 19: Detachment

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

**Author's notes: **Hey, guys, sorry for the wait. Anyway, here's the site I use for background information (google search: titanstower; 1st result) I love this site! It's so informative and up to date. Sorry I didn't put this up sooner…I kept forgetting :-(. Also, just FYI the Ravager, Wintergreen, Joseph, Grant, and Rose are NOT original characters. I'm not going to put original characters in this particular fic, heh. If I do though, I'll definitely make note of it. Then again, you guys probably already knew this, lol, and I'm being silly…I blame the caffeine…

P.S. I also slightly revised the last chapter and added a little part about Dick searching for the horrible scream he heard the night his parents died (during the scene just before the 2nd Robin comes in). Not sure if it was over the top, but thought I'd give it a go, let me know what you think if you go back and read it...

…ok this is getting too long…enjoy the chapter! **Let me know what you think:-)**

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Looking up, Dick's eyes became wider. His mouth fell open with shock at the sight of a young boy swooping down from the building that Barbara had come from earlier. The boy landed directly opposite of Dick and stood there in a shaky battle ready stance. His hair was a glossy jet black, like Dick's, and he was wearing the unmistakable red and green Robin costume.

**Chapter 19: Detachment**

"Robin!" Back in Jump City, Slade shouted into radio, "What's going on? Your mask cam is still offline and I can't see anything! Robin!" Suddenly, Slade's one eye widened as the numbers of Dick's vitals refreshed on his staticky display monitor. "Oh my God…the Xynothium levels…" he brought the microphone close to his mouth, "Robin! Get back to the estate now! That's an order!" He shouted again when Dick didn't respond. "Robin!"

_It can't be…no…so soon…Bruce, how could you…_Dick clenched his hands into trembling fists, lowered his head, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Jason, no!" Barbara screamed still bound by the Xynothium polymer, "Go back! Run!"

"Jason…so that's your name boy…" Dick hissed half to himself.

"Jason?" On the other end of the radio a small escaped Slade's lips, he knew what was happening now, "Robin!" Slade shouted into the radio again, "Get back here! That's an order!"

At that very moment, Dick felt something deep inside his chest snap, like a little bone or twig. That's when he finally heard it, the torturously painful noise. The one he heard that night when he should have died with his parents. Though brief, it filled his burning ears to the brim with its stabbing multi harmonic shriek. _Where was it coming from?_ It was nothing like he had heard…like it was from the depths of hell itself…it was _excruciating!_ Yet, it was everything and more than he had hoped it would be.

Still lost in the horrible sound, Dick became faintly aware that his body was now moving at an alarming rate. He was looming over the boy in a heartbeat. Jason didn't stand a chance.

As if he were experiencing everything from a distance, Dick felt his hands grow numb as one roughly took the boy up by the collar while the other threw itself across the young child's visage over and over again. Eventually the black Robin mask grew loose and fluttered off the boy's darkening face. Still, with no wish to stop, Dick's hands continued to batter the small face. _They were so thirsty…_

Thick, red images began to smear across Dick's mind. They were memories of, bloody screams, war, wide eyes, and entrails. Like the time when he first put on the mask, the images were so large and forceful that it was agonizing to try and focus on any of them. There was just too many of them!

_Riippp!_ The collar of the Robin costume shredded through the Dick's Red X claw. The small pale body fell onto the roof top with a thud.

"Body part. Body part," Dick felt his feverishly dry lips move slightly, mouthing the words as his fists brought themselves down onto young body, "Body part." _They ALL have to go! Each and every one…_

"Ahhhhhhh!" The young boy coughed and spat blood when he screamed as the Red X claws gripped around his bicep and then began to pull as if they were trying to separate it from his shoulder. Never ending tears streamed out of the boy's swollen eyes, "AHHHHHAHAHAHHHH!" The boy's shoulder joint began to make a popping noise.

"_Dick…don't…_" A woman's gentle whisper suddenly cleared the mayhem crowding Dick's head. Like that, his mind was suddenly shrouded in a serene darkness. Dick blinked, his hands stopped pulling for a moment. _Who was that?_ It was like the voice was coming from inside his--.

_Shooof! Chink!_ Releasing the boy's arm, Dick caught the long ninja dart coming towards the side of his head. He shot his head up just in time to see the dark cowl with red eyes running at him. _Ravager…you followed me? You've been watching me?_

The Ravager was surprisingly just as fast as Dick in the Red X suit and managed to knock Dick in a tackle like motion over the edge of the building. At the moment of impact, the radio in Dick's ear popped loudly and then went silent. Sailing over the side of the building, an incapacitating amount of exhaustion suddenly washed over him. It as if the sudden halt in motion had allowed it to finally catch up with him. Dick felt his body grow limp as he fell headlong towards pavement below. With each windy second, the Ravager's figure at the top of WayneTech grew smaller and smaller.

_Raven…why can't I just die? _The thought entered the darkness in his mind, though he didn't know what it meant.

As the frigid air whistled past him, the aching warmth in his arms and legs grew heavy in his shoulders. Then, as if releasing great pressure the pain burst and violently sprayed out of his spine. Cherry red feathers suddenly filled the sky as the Xynothium wings broke out of the outer fabric of the suit and caught an updraft. The next thing Dick knew, he was soaring above WayneTech looking down at the four ants of figures on the roof.

"Interesting…" the Ravager mused to himself as crimson feathers swirled down around him, "you chose the angelic wings of a bird instead of the demonic wings of the bat that created you…"

After watching the moonlit silhouette of the Red X suit disappear, the Ravager glanced at Batgirl who had been shouting at him for assistance for quite some time. With a forced smile on his face he backed off the edge of the building and disappeared into the night.

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_(The next night…)_

"How's he doing today, Barbara?" Bruce appeared behind her. She glanced at the boy moaning in his sleep. She patted him on the head and motioned for Bruce to follow her out of Jason's room.

Quietly shutting the door behind them she said, "Better. The doc said his arm will be ok in no time. He's a strong kid, Bruce. Still," Barbara wrapped her arm around the battered Batman and helped him limp down the hall back to his room, "I think that we should have taken him _and_ you to the hospital instead of having that doctor you saved last year treat you two here at the manor."

"You know we can't do that."

"Bruce, this is crazy! This is the reason why I hated the idea of making him Robin. Jason is just a boy! He almost died last night! All just because you don't want to apologize to Dick or admit that you miss him."

Bruce pushed off Barbara's hand and took a couple small steps ahead of her and stopped, "Are we really talking about me here?" He looked back at her, the white bandage tied around his head lighting up in the moonlight that came in from the windows, "Because I don't think I'm the one here who misses Dick." Barbara's eyes grew large as Batman continued, "nor do I think I have anything to apologize for," he caught Barbara's open hand on its way to slap him across the face and held it firm, "If anything, he should apologize. Are you so blinded by the past that you are willing to forgive him for trying to kill us last night?" Letting go of her hand he turned back around, a seething anger in his eyes, "He's _not_ Robin anymore, Barbara."

_Clang! Clang! Clang!_ Before Barbara could wrench her arm free and say anything back to the bitter man a commotion came from the Bat Cave.

"Alfred!" As quickly as they could, the two reached the bottom of the staircase just in time to catch the fainting butler, a silver tea set and tray littering the floor, "Are you alright?" Barbara propped the old man up.

"I'm sorry, Master Bruce," the elderly man nodded sleepily, "I was on my way up but then…I saw…"

A look of astonishment washed over both Batman and Batgirl as their eyes focused on the site before them. Hungry plumes of orange and yellow flames engulfed the several Robin suits hanging together in the crystal case in front of them. The once flowing fabric was quickly blistering and turning a dark, ashen black as the fire rapidly lapped up the length of the costume. Large spidery cracks littered the sides of the glass as it began to facture with the sweltering heat. The sprinkler system tube connected to the blazing glass case had been roughly bent and severed. Cool water glopped out of it, across the stone floor towards them. A large, melting Xynothium "X" sagged across the middle of the fracturing case.

"Dick…" Barbra whispered with sad eyes. As if on cue, the cave's main sprinkler system switched on. Sheets of water like rain doused everything except for the inferno shielded within the glass case.

The "R" patch on the Robin suit withered and fell into the growing pyre burning bright at the foot of the wardrobe.

"Robin…" Bruce clenched his free hand into a fist until it shook.

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Slade paced back and forth in his secret command center behind his study. Despite his attempts to reestablish radio contact with the Red X suit, he hadn't heard from Dick in 48 hours. Perhaps he had introduced Dick to the suit a bit prematurely. Maybe he shouldn't have granted the young man such open freedom so soon. Was he growing soft? He slammed his fist down on the computer console at the very idea that he had been so blinded by Dick's delicate body and athletic perfection to have let him loose so early in the process. He should have known better. Over and over, Slade swore to himself that if Dick returned he would be firmer and that situations like this would never arise again.

"Sir," Wintergreen's fizzled over the in house intercom to Slade's right, "If you would come to the library balcony, there is something you need to see."

Slade reached the balcony just in time to see Dick approach the estate from the sky.

"Amazing," split-masked man's blue grey eye gleamed as they traced over Dick's angelic silhouette.

The instant his foot touched the edge of the stone balcony the Xynothium rendered wings disappeared in a flourish of glossy, red feathers. When the flurry of feathers cleared away, Slade looked down to find Dick kneeling at his feet, the bone white mask folded neatly to his right.

"Sir," Robin spoke to the sandy white tiles of the balcony, "F—"

_Pah! Wham!_ Before Dick could even begin his sentence Slade struck him; first across the face, then all over; each blow increasing in intensity. _Crack!_ Somehow, throughout the beating Dick remained silent except for noises that escaped his lungs when the wind was knocked out of him. Never uttering a single word, Dick would shakily prop himself back up onto his knees, eyes down cast or calmly closed, ready to be receive whatever he deserved.

"Never," a thick vein in Slade's neck quivered with rage, "Never disobey me, again! That was a direct order, Dick! And what's more? You deliberately abused the power and freedom I have so generously granted you." He raised his hand to strike the submissive young man again.

"Forgive me, Sir," Dick mumbled past a swelling cheek, "I—"

_Pow!_ Dick kept his head turned, his eyes glued to the floor, after the punch and continued speaking, "I'm sorry that I did not return right away, but I was busy picking up these." He reached into a pocket on his belt and produced 3 different colored computer chips; one red, the other green, and the last blue. "Forgive me, Sir, but I hacked into your computer system with the Red X suit arm console and found these schematics. I then located them and stole them from the proper government and WayneTech facilities using the Red X suit. I know that these cannot fully repay you, but," Dick set the chips on the ground in a neat row in front of him then bowed deeply, pressing his forehead against the stone tiles, "I beg of you Sir, Master, please make me your apprentice."

Finishing his plea, Dick readied himself for the rest of his beating. When he heard Slade come close to his body he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. However instead of another blow, Dick felt the tingling sensation of Slade's gloved fingers running themselves through his hair. Though Dick could see nothing but the cracks between the stone tiles directly under him he knew Slide was smiling wolfishly under that steel mask.


	22. Chapter 20: Push

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

**Author's notes:** Sorry for the long wait! I was really wrestling with how to write this chapter just right. That and work and stuff kept getting in the way! As always enjoy and review please. I hope you all remembered what has happened so far! If not…here's a refresher of the story thus far as told by quotes from previous chapters! If you do remember, just skip down to the chapter title and enjoy the chapter! REVIEW, please:-)

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_Ravager…you followed me? You've been watching me?_

The Ravager was surprisingly just as fast as Dick in the Red X suit and managed to knock Dick in a tackle like motion over the edge of the building.

Suddenly, cherry red feathers suddenly filled the sky as the Xynothium wings broke out of the outer fabric of the suit and caught an updraft. The next thing Dick knew, he was soaring above WayneTech looking down at the four ants of figures on the roof

"Interesting…" the Ravager mused to himself as crimson feathers swirled down around him, "you chose the angelic wings of a bird instead of the demonic wings of the bat that created you…"

---

"I don't think I'm the one here who misses Dick...He's not Robin anymore, Barbara."

---

Hungry plumes of orange and yellow flames engulfed the several Robin suits hanging together in the crystal case in front of them. The once flowing fabric was quickly blistering and turning a dark, ashen black as the fire rapidly lapped up the length of the costume.

"Dick…" Barbra whispered with sad eyes.

"Dick…" Bruce repeated clenching his free hand into a fist until it shook.

---

Gravelling on his knees, Dick bowed deeply, pressing his forehead against the stone tiles, "I beg of you Sir, Master, please make me your apprentice."

**Chapter 20: Push**

_(1 month later)_

Cyborg gripped the steering wheel tightly when he felt the car suddenly skid in the rain. "Shit," he swore under his breathe as he swerved to regain control, "can hardly see a thing."

"Dude," Beast Boy's claws sunk into the arm rest to steady himself, "we are so late, again! The bank robbers will probably be gone by the time we get there."

"Indeed, Vic, is there a slice that is smaller?" Starfire piped up from the back seat.

"Shut up, BB! I'm goin' as fast as I can!" Cyborg forcefully shifted gears, "And no Starfire there is NO shortcut!" He exhaled sharply and then grumbled more quietly, "Not that I know of at least…"

"Robin would have known of a shortcut…" Beast Boy retorted without thinking.

"Son of a bitch, Robin," Vic thought to himself, "you're so anal you would have known at least three different shortcuts…then again, there's no telling what state of mind you're in right now…"

Cyborg let out another stiff sigh, "Well Robin isn't here, is he?" He paused and jerked the gear shift, again, "We all just gotta get used to the fact that there are only three of us now and that we just might not be able to save everybody."

At the sound of this and the mention of Dick, Starfire let out a small, sad noise from her throat.

"We just gotta do the best we can." Vic paused as he rounded a sharp corner, "Besides, how were we to know that there would be two bank heists in one night?"

Just as they had reached Jump National Bank the rain had begun to let up. An eerie, gray dawn light began to poke through the clouds.

On the steps of bank, a group of onlookers and gawkers had already congregated and the police had started to rope off the scene with yellow tape.

Seeing this, Cyborg punched the steering wheel, "Shit!" _Of course they were late!_ Pulling the car to a quick stop, the remaining Titans flung their doors open and raced across the slick pavement as quickly as they could.

"The least we can do is help the cops seal it off," Vic thought as he pushed his way through the crowd, "Maybe the robbers are still in there," he shook his head, "Nah _don't be silly, Vic_. You think the crowd would be so stiff and motionless if the robbers were still at large? They'd be runnin' for their lives if those guys were still around. Just why aren't the bystanders moving, anyways? They always got out of the way in the past…just what are they looking at?"

Turning his face up more fully, Vic followed the gaze of the crowd, and suddenly halted in his tracks. His eyes widened and his mouth became slack. "Oh my God…"

To his right he felt a small breeze roll off of Starfire as she set her self down, the same expression plastered on her face.

"No way…" Beast Boy gasped from behind Cyborg.

Hanging upside down above the bank entrance was a bundle of four rough looking men, bound, gagged, and beaten almost until they were hardly recognizable. Were there faces under the swollen tissue? Under several criss-crossed loops of rope around the criminals the familiar red shape of a Birdarang glistened.

"…get them down, Star…" Vic managed to say after a while.

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_(Earlier that evening…)_

_What day was it?_ _How long had it been since he had last worn the Red X suit? It wasn't fair…._Slade hadn't allowed him wear it or even set eyes on it since the night he swore his allegiance to him. _God…his flesh hungered for the suffocating cling of its slick fiber…its abominable power. _Just thinking about it caused a tingling sensation to quell up in his skin.

_Pow! Crack!_ Suddenly, Terra's blows rudely brought him out of his day dream. "Ah!" Dick stumbled back a couple steps holding his side.

"What's the matter? Is the precious apprentice getting tired?" Terra taunted, a sliver of a grin creeping across her face.

_It had been 3 days…or was it 4 since he had been allowed to sleep._

"Heh, pathetic. No wonder why Batman did everything…you never could protect anyone, let alone yourself," She hopped in a circle around him as his eyes narrowed.

A nerve pinched in his brain at the familiar line. Faintly, the sound of a heart monitor whined in the back of his head. Dick clenched his jaw.

"Without that Red X suit you're nothing." She continued to circle him, "I can't believe he gave it to _you_. Hell, I can't believe you decided to become his apprentice even after I warned you not to!"

Dick just kept his head down, his dark bangs fell into his eyes as he attentively watched the swishing motions of her feet. Her feet always gave her away...after a moment there was a slight break in the tempo of her steps. _Now! _Turning his body, he fluidly dodged the blonde's next attack and ducked under her second.

_Wham! Pah!_ He buried his fist deep into her abdomen once with his right, then with his left. Somewhat stunned at sudden burst of attacks, Terra had no time to react to the final upper cut that knocked across the sparing room.

Amazingly, after landing in a heap on the floor, the earthmover whipped herself back on her feet. However, her movements were shaky and off center suggesting that she was disoriented. She wasn't going to last much longer.

"Ahhhhhh!" She ran at him, hate filling her eyes. Calmly Dick dodged the swing of her fists. Seeing an opening, he caught her face in his hand and attempted to slam her head to the ground. Her cheeks were as soft as silk…

"_Mommy why are you cheeks so smooth?"_ He remembered asking his mother once while she was painting her face for their trapeze act that night. He couldn't recall what she said back, but remembered only that she smiled at him with painted black lips.

Just as he had begun to push Terra off her balance, he felt the earth mover's leg wrap around his and pull him to the floor after her. _Damn!_

Releasing her face, Dick shot out his arms and jerked his body to stop, inches above the blonde. She was so close that he could feel her hot hyperventilating breath hit the back of his throat. Dick gripped the ripples of her soft robe more tightly as his heart quickened. Slowly, Terra's hateful blue eyes became slits as a dark wolfish grin spread across her face. "Weren't expecting that were you?" She said as Dick looked down to find his hand gripped around her left breast. With a gasp he reeled back, embarrassment coloring his cheeks.

Terra only laughed wickedly and before Dick knew it, she was standing over him. _Bam! Pah!_ _Whack!_ Her blows were swift and merciless and she continued to beat him though his body, curling in pain, lay prone.

"Terra," Slade, who had been watching the match from the far corner of the room, finally raised his hand, "that will be enough."

Only beginning to have fun Terra kicked the beaten man a couple more times before ceasing. "This is only the beginning of your hell, Dick. Now that you're his apprentice, I'm going to make you wish you were dead," she whispered caustically.

"Enough, Terra," Slade said firmly, "I think Mr. Grayson has learned enough about the importance of unwavering concentration. You may go now."

"Thank you, master." She bowed before she left the room.

Pushing himself up, Dick gazed almost confused at the spatters of scarlet smeared across the wooden floor beneath him. His eyes began to water at the thought of the first night he ever saw blood paint a floor. There was so much blood that night. He brought up his open hand and stared dreamily at it as it caught crimson droplets trailing out off his face. _Why was he thinking about that night now?_

Before his mind could elaborate further, dark gloved hands wrapped themselves around his palm. Dick looked up at Slade, tearful and taken aback by the sudden comforting gesture, "It's close to the day, isn't it, Dick?"

Dick looked away.

"Hmpf. Forget about it, Dick," Slade firmly thumbed the young man's chin, turning Dick's gaze back to him, "Bury them! Concentrate only on our goal! Do you understand me?"

The young man swallowed hard and slowly nodded.

"Good," Slade stood up and dropped Dick's hand, "Now give me 50 tiger routine sets and then get out of my sight. You greatly disappoint me at the moment."

"Yes, sir." Dick bowed his head and stumbled slightly as he got up.

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Dick let out a heavy moan as the hot water droplets from the shower stung his battered body. He stood motionless for a moment and watched the red tinted water swirl down the drain until it ran clear. Without warning, his body wretched forward, tears bursting out from the corners of his eyes. He quickly clapped his hand over his mouth as if to somehow force the violent sobs back down his throat. _Slade mustn't hear him!_

The fingers of his other hand clawed at the slippery wall tiles as if that would keep him from sinking to the floor and curling up in a fetal position. The hot water burned his wounds as it pelted his body. _What was wrong with him?_ He buried his face in the crevice between his knees._ Why couldn't he stop crying?_

Maybe he should start taking the Xynothium tablets, again. He didn't have those vivid dreams and nightmares until that night he had started hiding them in the hallow lamp by his bed. Maybe that's why he couldn't concentrate…maybe that was why he was so fucked up now; too much thinking and too many dreams.

Coming out of the shower, he snatched the pill bottle out of the medicine cabinet and jammed a capsule down his gullet, dry. After swallowing, he turned the bottle once over in his hand and then, as if by sudden impulse, snapped the cap back off, again, and shook several more pills into his palm. Dick grimaced as the bitter medicine slid roughly down his throat.

The drugs were fast. he barely had time to dress and make it to his bed before he felt a heavy drowsiness wash over him. Sleep came quick after he collapsed face down onto the mattress

Yet, despite their fast action and effectiveness, Dick still had a dream that night; a very vivid one at that. It was about the Ravager, again. Every night since their brief encounter, Dick had dreamt about him. In these dreams he would be clad in the Red X suit and fighting the dark assassin in a never ending combat.

Some moves would be replays of the ones they had exchanged when they had first met, while others were completely new fabrications of his subconscious. Yet, always in the dream there would be a point at which he would be falling off the building they were on. Nevertheless, every time, without fail, the Ravager's strong hand would come from above and catch his wrist. "Oh no," the Ravager would smile warmly, just as he did that night he met Dick, "there's no way I'm letting you get the easy way out." With that, he would pull Dick back up to the rooftop and they'd continue to fight.

Why his subconscious had fixated on the Ravager so? He wasn't sure, but he had rationalized that it was because he had been unable to finish the battle with the only man who proved to be his combative equal.

Yet that night, the dream changed slightly. Dick didn't know how it happened. One minute the dark assassin was pulling him back up to the roof and in the next his warm mouth was over Dick's; pressing its tongue against the polymer mask of the Red X suit; stretching it deep into the young man. Dick awoke with a start when he had become aware of another force pushing firmly into him.

Heart racing, Dick hugged his pillow tightly. _I'm so fucked up._

-----------------------------------------

After tossing and turning for the next couple of hours, Dick finally got up and walked over to the glass French doors to the left of his bed. The curved door handle was rigid and cool to touch as he jiggled it lightly. The chain and padlock that held the handles of the two doors together tinkled.

_Go on. It's easy _His mind urged as he paced the room. _Pick the lock with the bobby pins you lifted from Terra during one of your fights. There's work to be done and you need the fresh air. _

After pacing the room a couple more times, Dick took a moment to lump his bed sheets into a body formation under the blankets before working on the lock. He had been doing this for the past month and removing the simple pad lock had become quite easy.

Outside, the air was clammy and smelled of impending rain. Pulling the doors shut behind him, Dick closed his eyes and deeply inhaled the sweet air. The thick wind tousled his hair and rustled the leaves of the nearby oak tree. With his eyes still closed, he ran forward, feeling the cool brick under his feet, and leapt off the balcony in a smooth flourish reminiscent of his circus days.

_Whoosh!_ He caught the thick branch of the neighboring oak tree with both his hands. Quiet and agile, like a cat, he climbed down the rest of the tree, landing softly at the foot. Crouching at the base of the trunk, Dick glanced around a couple times before starting to dig at a small, barely noticeable mound of dirt.

With the earth wet with recent rain and midnight dew, the shallowly buried bag was uncovered in seconds. Dusting it off, Dick glanced over his shoulder once more before placing his hand into the dark cloth sack.

Despite multiple wears, the suit he pulled out of the bag still smelled fragrantly of smoke and ash.

_Dick, you sentimental bastard._

-----------------------------------------

_Now wasn't that fun?_ Robin's mind whirled with excitement as he made his way across the city, back to the Wilson's estate. He honestly didn't know what he would do if he wasn't able to escape from Slade's rigid training every so often. _You'd probably go crazy….crazy like Batman, _he thought., _Then again, it was Batman that made you like this…made you feel like a freak if you didn't patrol the city at least once every night…_

After he changed back into his pajamas and stowed the costume back underground, he quickly scaled up the tree, trying to stay within the cover of the late night shadows. On the balcony, he quietly turned the curved handle of the French door and entered his dark room.

Though he had been doing this for quite some time now, he could never shake the anticipatory feeling that someone was watching him, lying in wait to catch him red handed.

_Calm down, ki--_ his mind stopped suddenly in mid-thought.

Dick's eyes widened at the sight of a dark, broad shouldered figure sitting in a chair by his bed.

Only half of the figure's face was visible in the moonlight, the rest was concealed by shadow. The figure's visible, dark blue eye glinted in the pale light as it narrowed in a smirk at him.

"Master?" Dick whispered, breathless.


	23. Chapter 21: On My Mind

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

Also, I've just realized that Blackheart Syaoran had put up a fic with the title "Red Robin" before me. We have completely different themes and stories…but still if you're reading this, Blackheart Syaoran, please forgive me for not checking and coincidentally using the same title (god I'm such a noob!). Thus, shall I change the title? Or is it alright? I'll make note of it if I do. Any suggestions?

**Author's notes: **Sorry for longer than a week's wait…but FFnet was glitching on me! As a prize for your patience, here's a slightly longer chapter! This time, though, I was experimenting in technique and tried my hand at describing parallel events. Not sure how well it worked or if I effectively made things more confusing… lemme know how you think it turned out! Nevertheless, a lot happens in this chappie and I hope you all catch the details ;-) .

Also I've cleaned up chapter 20 since I found some little typos and word skips (sorry about those). Let me know if you find any in this one!

Well as always enjoy and, please review! It means a lot to me.

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"Master?" Dick whispered, breathless

**Chapter 21: On my mind**

"Heh," the figure placed a cigarette in between his tender lips, "So he has you calling him master, now, huh?"

_Chink!_ A metal lighter flickered on, illuminating the figure's face in a dim orange glow. It wasn't Slade, but his golden blonde son, Grant. He held the lighter at the end of the cigarette for a moment. Then, with the slight flick of his wrist snapped the lighter shut and slipped it back into his rumpled dress shirt pocket.

"You know," a half full bottle of tequila sloshed in his right hand as he gestured, "this used to be my room." He took the cigarette from his lips with the same hand that pinched the neck of the large glass bottle and let out a heavy stream of smoke, "used to stash my porn right there." The broad shouldered man pointed to the floorboards in front Dick with his cigarette hand.

The drunkard then chuckled to himself, again, as he took a long drag on his cigarette.

"What do you want?" Dick finally managed to say sternly, getting over his initial shock.

"Want? Why," the sleepy eyed blonde got up and took a couple staggered steps toward Dick, "I want you, dear Robin." An eerily familiar smirk spread across his lips. The cigarette sagged at the corner of his mouth as he began to form slurred sentences, "You see, I know this may be schludden, but I-I'm havin' a bit of trouble with friends, lately. Buuu-t you know this guy says he's my best friend and next thing I know he's fuckin' my girlfriend behind my back …aaaand now I've got two," he stopped waving his arms around for a moment to hold up two fingers before continuing, "t-two empty seats next to me for the Children's Hospital Charity event in th-three nights. Soooo I want you and whatever sexy broad you can bring with you to come. 'cause you know…two empty seats next to me…how does that reflect on me?" He took a swig of tequila, "Bad…bad. I mean how am I supposed to rival Wayne as ultimate playboy and party man if I got two empty seats next to me? I mean it should be easy for you to find a broad too, right? You're the adopted son of Bruce Wayne, for cryin' out loud."

Dick narrowed his eyes. "No thanks," he said, his voice turning ice cold, "I think I'll pass. Besides, I'm nothing like Wayne."

"Aw that's a pity," Grant straightened up slightly as if Dick's icy voice was making him sober. Still with that sly smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, he took a couple more steps toward Dick, "but let me tell you one thing, kid. One of these days you're going to realize that you're more like your father then you think, whether you like it or not," he poked the young man's chest a couple times with his index finger, "Believe me, I know."

He puffed his cigarette before continuing, "Anyway, I suppose you don't have to worry about the broad. I'll find something for you, but you _will_ join me at the event. Hell, you sneak out at night anyways, so you might as well come along and have some fun. All you gotta do is sit there and look pretty. OK, pretty boy? Plus, if you don't, I'm sure Pops would be delighted to shackle you to the bed again after hearing about your little, secret adventures as Robin."

The scowl that had taken hold of Dick's face instantly melted, giving way to the shocked expression he had when he had first saw Grant's figure in the room.

Before Grant turned to leave, he grinned at the young man again, his deep blue eyes smiling exactly the way Slade's one eye did whenever he made the same expression, "See you around, kid."

-----------------------------------------

_(The next night…)_

"_OK. Good night ambassador…"_

_Shink! Bang!_

"_You must be the diplomat murder they've been talking about on the news…you're who they call the Ravager aren't you?"_

"_Heh, now look what you made me do. Y—"_

Slade squinted at the grainy images of last month's Red-X audio-visual feed as he fast forwarded through them. He had to find out who this "Ravager" was and how he managed to escape defeat by Dick in the Red-X suit. How could a mere man manage to overcome the Red-X suit and push Dick off WayneTech tower?

_--'re good, kid. I'll give you that."_ Slade let go of the fast forward button a couple seconds after the Ravager knocked out the camera in the Red X mask.

"_Speak for yourself."_

"_Dick, just finish him! Stop messing around". _A distorted recording of his own voice hissed out of the speaker. _ "I didn't send you out there just to have fun. Dick!"_

Without visual, Slade focused on the streaming numbers at the bottom of the screen that reported Dick's vitals during the fight. As the grunts and impact sounds of combat continued to pour from the speakers, the dark teacher leaned forward, trying to envision his apprentice's fluid form and elegant movements. _He must have been magnificent!_

---

_(Meanwhile…upstairs…)_

After the house had been dead quiet for a while, Dick crept out from under his covers and, as quietly as he could, arranged his sheets in the shape of a sleeping body. He then began to tug lightly at the floor boards near his bed where he had moved the suit shortly after Grant's departure last night.

So concentrated was he, that he didn't notice the thin film of sand that slid and sprinkled off the floorboards as he lifted them.

---

_(Again, in the secret room…) _

_Pah!_ The sound of a direct impact was followed by a brief moment of whistling wind.

_Thwack! _At this sound, the whistling stopped abruptly._ "Oh no, there's no way I'm letting you get the easy way out."_ The Ravager's voice was warm and playful.

At this Slade blinked and furrowed his brow. With the quick shift of his finger he rewound the tape a little and replayed it.

"—_idn't send you out there just to have fun. Dick!"_

_Pah!_

_Thwack!_

"_Oh no, there's no way I'm letting you get the easy way out."_

Eyes narrowing at the jump in Dick's vitals, Slade whispered, "No…it can't be," He rewound the tape, again, but this time further and allowed it to play through. "These numbers…does my eye deceive me?"

---

_(Meanwhile...out on the town…)_

_Stupid! Stupid!_ Dick clenched his hand into a fist as his mind scolded him. _You knew you would get caught eventually. It was a matter of odds…like Russian roulette…you can get only lucky so many times. You're lucky it wasn't Slade or Terra waiting for you instead of that sleazebag, Grant; lucky that he'll keep his mouth shut as long as you go on that stupid date...  
_

"_You're a lucky boy…such a lucky boy…yes you are…"_ A mother's voice murmured in the back of Dick's mind. _When did his mother say that? Had his mother ever told him that? No…it was—_

"Fancy seeing you up here, again, kid." The Ravager's cool voice snapped Dick out of his thoughts, "It's been awhile."

At the sound of the assassin's smooth voice Dick's heart skipped a beat. _Had the Ravager been waiting for him? _A subconscious smile touched his lips briefly, at the thought of this. Quickly hiding the smile away, Robin turned around to see the handsome outline of the dark assassin, his arms crossed smugly, walking towards him. "Ravager…how did you know it was me? I'm not wearing the Red-X suit."

"Heh. Come on kid, what do you take me for? I fought you for a good hour and half. I would know your slim frame and quick, amature movement patterns from a mile away. They're…simply unforgettable…"

"Is that so? You think _I'm_ amature?" Unable to contain the odd energy he felt quelling up in his chest, a genuine smile turned up the corners of Robin's mouth, "and unforgettable?"

"You heard me," the broad shouldered assassin grinned.

"AHHHHH!" A woman's scream from the hotel a couple buildings down echoed down the street followed by a myriad of police sirens.

After watching the cop cars zoom past the building they were on, Dick turned back to face the Ravager who was smirking devilishly at him.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that would you?" He said his smile widening despite his efforts to force it away.

"And if I did?" The Ravager lowered his head in playful manner, flashing a wolfish grin.

With that, Dick swung at the Ravager and the two began to exchange blows in what, from a distance, one could mistaken as a strange dance.

_Wham! Wham!_ The Ravager slammed Dick to the ground. "Damn you're kinda slow without that suit, kid," he said leaning in close to Robin's upturned visage. He could feel Dick's breath warm his upper lip.

"Uh!" With a kick and a grunt, Robin freed himself from the pin and jumped to his feet. After equally exchanging more swings and blocks, he managed to lock the Ravager's arms against his own body, "Just shut up and fight." Dick's eyes gleamed behind his mask.

"So that's how you like it, huh?" The broad shouldered man returned before he broke out of the hold. Backing up, the two circled each other for a moment like roosters in a cock fight. "If you ask me," the Ravager hopped a bit, relaxing his stance slightly, "you need to loosen up."

"Whoa, you know drunken style kung fu?" Robin stopped moving for a moment in admiration as the Ravager swaggered closer to him. It was one thing to fight with perfect form and with power, but certainly another to retain that power while remaining loose and fluid. Drunken fighting was a lot like fire; powerful and efficient, but difficult to control. Frankly, Robin could never get the form down despite years of attempting it. "Well let's see how you like my tiger style!" He charged the Ravager.

---

_(Meanwhile…back at the Wilson estate…)_

"These numbers," Slade thought, "they're all wrong." Slade turned the rewind knob again, "Increased pulse rate, quickened respiration rate, heightened brain stimulation…too much increase for just fighting…no Dick…you're not just enjoying the thrill of combat…are you?…Your heart flutters when the Ravager touches you… when he looks at you...You actually _like_ being in his presence…don't you?"

Slade scowled and pursed his lips as he rewound the tape again. His face darkened as the tape progressed once more from the beginning. "Hmmmm," he stroked his chin.

---

"Hahahaha!" Though he tried to stifle it, Dick let out a playful laugh at the Ravager's rubbery form. Since the tall man had taken on the drunken style Robin had been unable to strike him, "Hold still!"

Suddenly, Robin felt his foot hit a patch of sand on the ledge they were on and slip out from under him. _How did sand get all the way up on the rooftop ledge?_

Just when he thought he was going to repeat the happenings of his dream, Dick suddenly found his face buried into the Ravager's chest. The Ravager had broken form and had quickly lunged forward, wrapping his strong arms around the young man to keep him from falling over the edge. "Gotcha kid." His voice hummed gently in his chest, the little vibrations tickling Robin's ear.

Dick's heart quickened and his mouth went dry. _God, he smelled so good!_ When this thought had entered his mind, Robin suddenly flinched and pushed himself back from the Ravager. He looked up at the shocked assassin who still held his forearms to steady him.

All of the sudden Dick's eyes widened. There was movement in the reflection of the Ravager's red lenses. Robin whipped around in time to see three familiar figures. One held out an iridescent sonic cannon. _Where had he seen them before? _Dick could have sworn he had seen them at least in a dream once.

"Hold it right there!" The cannon bearing one shouted.

"Robin?" A woman with fiery read hair floated up beside the cyborg.

"Who are….how do you—" Dick's mind burned with the twist of a thousand nerves. Taking a couple steps back, he noticed that the Ravager had since stepped away several paces and most likely was trying to make an exit.

"Oh no you don't!" The mechanical man discharged his cannon to Robin's left.

"No!" Dick shouted, as he turned his body around and jumped at the assassin. Hugging the broad shouldered man around the waist, he sent them both over the edge of the building.

_Boom! _Rubble flew off the adjacent building where the sonic blast had narrowly missed them.

"Robin…" was all Dick could hear the Ravager say.

_Phzzz. Chink! _After an extended moment of falling, Robin heard the Ravager deploy his grappling hook as if he had suddenly snapped out of his surprise.

"So," the Ravager turned his back on Robin, not facing him when they landed under an eave of a nearby church, "I guess we're even now."

"Ravager…wait…" Dick reached out to touch the dark assassin's shoulder, but thinking better of it, retracted his hand just before making contact.

The Ravager turned slightly, his strong profile outlined by the pale moonlight. For some reason his smirk was bittersweet. "See you around, kid," he said before leaping off the wide, stone window sill. Robin didn't bother pursuing him any further.

-----------------------------------------

_(The next night…)_

_Ravager…_ Dick stared off distantly. Slowly he closed his eyes, remembering first the assassin's comforting embrace, his scent, then the sad smirk on his face before he left. _Why? Why am I so fucked u--_

"You like this, don't you?" Dick tensed up at the feeling of Slade's cold hands running themselves down his sides and resting momentarily on his slim waist.

"Putting her on this way, that is," Slade added softly after pausing. He proceeded to smooth out the rest of the ripples in the Red X suit before bringing the seams of the suit close enough together for it to seal itself.

Robin shivered as the seam annealed down his spine. _God!_ He had forgotten how cold the fabric was.

"As much as I don't think you're ready to wear her again," Slade continued as he stood behind the young man in front of the mirror, "I'm afraid that since I've bonded you to her she requires your periodic use to remain at her peak performance. But, do not think that this is an excuse for another joy ride," he held out the mask with the stark white skull on it, "I have a task for you."

-----------------------------------------

Despite the warm breeze, the rain was cold and steady that night. A primitive fog began to build and blanket the city as Dick made his way across it.

A knot wrenched in Dick's stomach and a lump had gathered in his throat as he thought about what Slade had asked him to do.

"The task is simple," back in the lair Slade had wrapped his arms around the young man from behind, cradling his delicate chin, and pressing his lips to his ear, "Find and kill the man who calls himself the Ravager...bring me his head," Slade added darkly when he noticed the young man's eyes widen briefly. With a smile, Slade pressed his mask to the top of Dick's head and made a small kiss noise.

Dick shivered. There was no way he could refuse nor fail Slade. If he did, Slade would be furious and put him under lock down for sure; among other more severe things. _What could he do?_

Slade had fixed the audio and visual devices embedded in the Red X mask. Thus he couldn't even warn the Ravager; not without giving his secret history and/or his feelings—whatever they were—away.

_Maybe I won't find him._ His mind pleaded as the rain grew heavier. _God, please don't let me see him ever again!_

It had not been more than a second after this thought had passed through his mind that he saw the recognizable dark cowl with slanted, red lenses.

He was in an alley, surrounded by dead body guards, his heaving back to Dick. A couple feet to his right his dark katana stuck straight up out of dead man's abdomen. The Ravager turned around slowly, wavy puffs of steam escaping his mouth like smoke. In his clutches was a limp, elderly man whose head lolled back at an unnatural angle. Blood coated half of the Ravager's face and, mixing with the rain, fluidly ran off his chin. The man landed with a sickening _thud_ and _sloosh_ when the Ravager threw him to the side. "You again," he said with a grim look on his face. _Such a look…didn't suit his handsome jaw well._

He pulled his katana out of the dead man and with a wide swing, flung the blood and water off the blade before sheathing it, "I don't have time to play tonight, kid."

"I'm not playing," Dick's distorted voice came out slowly, gravely as if he were carefully choosing his words, "Ravager…I—" the low rumble of thunder breaking overhead washed out the rest of Dick's, "I'm sorry."


	24. Chapter 22: Bleeding Out

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

**Author's notes: **Well here it is guys! Sorry for the uber long wait. Things have been getting hectic and for some odd reason I had a harder time writing this chapter than the others. Things are going to get a little complicated in regards to the little conspiracy I've had going on in the background…so look out for those clues ;- ).

After this chapter, however, there may be a long pause as I get the chapters on LJ all caught up (see profile for details). I've also acquired a beta recently and we're cleaning up previous chapters which I'll refresh on here too.

Don't worry though! I've got the ending all planned out and I promise I WILL finish this fic (because I hate fics that just stop updating and leave you hanging…).

So I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget about me! And please let me know what you think!

-----------------------------------------

_(In previous chapters…18 and 21, respectively…)_

_(Ravager to Dick)_ "The Red X doesn't belong to you! I know that for a fact! I know its name because I knew the owner…the owner of that suit is dead!"

_Addie!_ The name rang out in Dicks mind causing him to hesitate.

---

…Slade had wrapped his arms around the young man from behind, cradling his delicate chin, and pressing his lips to his ear, "Find and kill the man who calls himself the 'Ravager'...bring me his head…"

**Chapter 22: Bleeding Out**

For extended moment, both men stood motionless. Watching the gray rain cascade down the Ravager's strong shoulders, Dick couldn't shake the vibe he received the night before when they parted. It was the feeling of sadness… loneliness.

"Robin," Slade spoke firmly into the microphone, "Don't just stand there. Take him. Do not forget that _he is a killer, Dick, an assassin!_"

Hearing this, the sad look on Robin's face began to melt. His eyes hardened as Slade continued.

"He works for the HIVE and opposes everything you stood for as Robin. He is no better…no…he's lower than Zucco who murdered your parents...even lower than Two-Face and Batman who have deprived you of so much," a silent smirk spread across Slade's lips as Dick's blood pressure rose , "He's taken advantage of you…tricked you into forgetting about what he does. Dick, he's already killed 2 ambassadors… and this is the third victim. You must stop him, now!"

_My God…Slade was right… how could he have been so blind?_

Dick blinked away the water welling up in his eyes as they narrowed into a scowl.

The tattered cape of the Red-X suit fluttered mercilessly as Dick leapt into the air and showered the ground with red shurikens.

_Schink! Chink!_ The Ravager jumped back, deflecting several ninja stars away with his katana. _CHINK! _ However, the next thing he knew, Dick was swooping down on him with a full, Xynothium rendered blade of his own.

Red X was quick and came at the Ravager from what seemed like all sides at once. The ring and flash of steel filled the night air, complimenting the steady clatter of the rain and the sedate flicker of the lightening.

Eventually, hilt to hilt and face to face with the expressionless skull mask, the Ravager grit his teeth, a scarlet gash at his left temple. Pieces from the ends of the obsidian colored ribbons that fixed the dark cowl to his head fluttered to their feet. Glancing up at his blade, the Ravager's eyes widened at the sight of deep, ugly cracks and lacerations marring the edges of it.

Dick placed more pressure against his sword, forcing the Ravager to take a couple steps back. "Wroahhhh…." A throaty, multi-harmonic growl came out from behind the Red X mask as Dick exhaled, pushing out large, gaseous clouds of steam. _Did that noise really come from him?_

Slowly, like blood, the exterior of Xynothium sword began to ooze down the silver katana, working its way into the cracks and dents. Before the Ravager knew it, his entire sword, including the hilt and even his hands, was being constricted by the thick, red polymer. Unable to pull away, his eyes became larger in disbelief.

"Kid," the Ravager spoke, still straining against the pressure of Robin's sword, "it's not what it looks like. I can explain. Don't do this."

"Liar," Dick spat.

_Chingggg!_ Suddenly there was a small flash as Dick viciously expanded the Xynothium in and around the katana, blowing it apart. The Ravager turned away and squeezed his eyes shut, catching steel fragments on his right side.

_Pah!_ A firm kick to the assassin's abdomen sent him flying several feet back.

"Uhh!" The Ravager coughed when he struck the wet pavement and went limp. He lied there still and unconscious with his head titled back over the curbside and his hands bound by Xynothium. As Dick slowly approached him, he altered the Xynothium on his staff to form the red, crescent blade reaper.

Watching the supercomputer's monitor intently, Slade's eyes gleamed, a Cheshire smile widening along his lips. Slipping his fingers up under his mask, Slade bit down on the tip of his index finger with delight and anticipation. "Perfect," he whispered to himself, "just perfect you are…my little red Robin…"

Dick took a deep breath as he carefully aimed and wound up for a clean slice across the Ravager's neck.

The steady rain drops pinged lightly against the blade while he stood at the Ravager's feet, trying to push the last of the dreams and foolish feelings out of his head; trying to fill himself with dark hate. A crash of thunder clapped overhead.

"_Hahaha…Hold still…" _Dick's grip on the reaper began to relax as he remembered his laughter from the night before.

"Please, Robin," Slade eventually clicked on the radio, "do not stop. Go on. Take his head for me."

"Sir…" Robin trailed off.

"He is not your friend, Dick. He is a murderer and he will not hesitate for you. He doesn't care for you, Dick; not like I do," Slade licked his lips before continuing, "We mustn't allow him anymore time to kill or to take advantage of you, again. Finish him."

Readjusting his grip, Dick lifted the reaper again and squeezed his eyes shut. _He's a killer…he doesn't care for you!_ He repeated the lines to himself as he began to swing.

_Plink! Shooon!_ The reaper shook as it resonated and met resistance. Robin snapped his eyes open to see the Ravager, still on the ground, gritting his teeth and holding the curved blade back with the Xynothium laden sword grip perpendicular to his neck.

"Unh!" The dark assassin grunted as he locked his legs around Dick's and pulled him off balance with a firm twist.

Instantly releasing the reaper from his grip, Robin shot his palm out against the flooded street and swiftly brought his legs around, recovering from the fall with a one handed cartwheel. He landed in a stance low to the ground and in time to witness the Ravager run crookedly down the alleyway, wounded and struggling to wrench his hands free from the Xynothium that bound them.

_Bweep! Bweep!_ Robin glanced over his shoulder. Behind him, a red light flickered. A police hardtop had pulled up and was blocking the mouth of the alley. Guns drawn, two officers began to exit the car, their faces aghast at the sight of the ambassador's and his men's twisted corpses littering the alley.

"Freeze! Drop the weapon!" they shouted.

"Dick, don't let him get away," Slade ordered just as the Ravager rounded the corner at the end of the alley.

Glancing at the steadily approaching policemen again, Robin's eyes narrowed. With a slight flick of his wrist he whipped out several explosive discs.

_He lied to you, Dick. Made you the victim all over again…_ _you're always the god damn victim._ A voice urged in the back of his mind. _Make him pay, Dick! He must pay!_

-----------------------------------------

_(Down the alley and around the corner…)_

The Ravager wasn't sure how he did it but he managed to push two of his fingers through the small slit in the reaper had made in the Xynothium ooze. Still running with a gimp, he eventually managed to pull his hands apart. Finally free, he threw the grip of his katana to the side and reached for his grappling hook. He didn't know what was wrong with the kid, but whatever the case, he had to get away fast. Never had he expected to feel so much hate from that kid.

On the rooftop, the Ravager's right leg gave out under him. "Shit!" He pulled himself behind a chimney stack and began to tear tourniquets from his costume.

_Kaboom!_ Peaking around the brick chimney, the mercenary's eyes widened. Despite the rain, orange fire lit up the night from the ally he had just escaped. Suddenly, a winged silhouette popped out over the horizon and onto the adjacent roof. It was Dick with his red wings and his Bo staff reaper at his side.

The Ravager's hands worked faster to fasten the tourniquets and remove the large steel fragments from the right side of his face and body. As quietly as possible, he peeked around the brick chimney again to see Robin reach the opposite side of the rooftop he was on. Placing his feet on the roof, the wings suddenly disappeared in a puff and flurry of feathers. He knew that the Ravager was here.

"Damn it. Must have been trailing a lot of blood…too much for the rain to wash away," the Ravager thought as the red feathers blew passed the chimney, "That or he's using heat detection." Either way, the Ravager knew he had no choice now. He had to fight. _Kill or be killed._

From his belt he pulled out a thick automatic syringe filled with a familiar red liquid.

"_Use only in emergencies."_ The HIVE tech department had told him.

He then drew his wakizashi, quickly removed the cap of the syringe, and aimed its needle at his heart.

The Ravager took a deep breath.

"Now where did you go?" Dick mused to himself. Unfortunately, the cold rain chilled everything to a similar temperature, making the thermo vision of the Red X suit quite dim and inaccurate. Nevertheless, the heat sensors had led him here. Ravager was here alright, hiding like a coward.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Ravager threw his head back as he plunged the needle into his chest. His body shuttered slightly as his heart quickened and the chemical began to take effect.

Now knowing the Ravager's position, Dick ran to the other side of the rooftop. A dark shadow swooped out from behind the brick chimney and into the air. Robin whipped his head up and blocked the Ravager's downwards slice. The two locked weapons once more.

_Pah! Crack!_ Surprisingly more powerful than before, the Ravager drew back his hand and jabbed Robin twice in the ribs. Taken aback by the Ravager's sudden surge in strength and agility, Dick failed to dodge a round house kick that brought him to the ground.

_How could this be?_ Dick rolled to the side, dodging the Ravager's downwards kick.

"Interesting," Slade stroked his chin as he watched the struggle continue on the screen, "he seems to be on a Xynothium derivative as well…"

_Wham!_ Gripping Dick by the collar the Ravager slammed the young man against a brick chimney stack. "What's going on? What's gotten into you, kid?" The Ravager shouted at the unmoving skull mask.

"Heh! Don't you know? It's not nice to lie." A distorted snicker hissed out from behind the Red X mask.

_Click. Beep. Beep._ Glancing down at his feet, the Ravager's eyes grew large. He looked back at Dick who only cocked his head slightly suggesting he was smirking at the tempo of the cherry bomb's timer.

_Boom!_ The Ravager had only enough time to release Robin and take a few steps away before the bomb detonated sending him over the edge of the roof and through the skylight of the adjacent building.

"Uh!" The fall knocked the wind out of the Ravager and the red lenses out of his mask. When the dust cleared, he found that he was in what appeared to be an old, abandon train station. "Did the blast send Red X here too? Or was he still on the roof?" He wondered looking around quickly. The rain coming in through the shattered skylight clattered and reverberated eerily throughout the old station.

The Ravager bent down to pick up his wakizashi that had landed a few feet away. No sooner did he do this when Dick's Red X claws were around him, trying to snap his neck from behind.

Struggling furiously, the Ravager grabbed at the arm around his neck, "Ahhhhhhh!" He screamed as he suddenly heaved his body forward, ran his feet up an adjacent pillar, and flipped over Robin.

As fast as lightning he grabbed his wakizashi and, dodging Dick's counterattacks, circled him, slashing Robin in several places. Dick's flesh burned as he felt the Xynothium flow out of the suit; covering the ground around them and entering his wounds. In shock at the Ravager's speed, Robin did little else to avoid the slashes.

_Pah!_ Finally, at the end of this fluid combo, the Ravager kicked Dick to the ground, flat on his back. Expecting the end, Dick closed his eyes. The rain was cold yet soothing to touch.

Yet, when silence, save for the snapping of the rain, settled across the old station, Robin opened his eyes again to see the Ravager's inverted face over his. He was breathing hard and was covered in streams of red blood and Xynothium. The tip of his small blade glistened right above Dick's heart.

"Won't do it, huh?" Dick said almost gently gazing into the Ravager's now revealed deep blue eyes. _Those eyes…_

The Ravager's face contorted almost painfully as he slowly shook his head, "...Can't…"

Robin smiled. "Too bad for you," he said his voice darkening again.

The blue eyes widened.

Robin gripped the Xynothium now gushing out of his palms, altering it and the Xynothium around them into a flurry of razor sharp ribbons. In a split second the Ravager was tangled in Xynothium web, taut with tension that threatened to tear him apart, "Gotcha," he said his heart pounding fast.

"Excellent! Well done, Robin," Slade clapped on the other side of the radio, "Now finish him!"

"Kid," the Ravager struggled to breathe and not cry out in pain, "Don't….d-don't do this….ah…"

"What are you waiting for?" Slade pushed, "Just one pluck of the ribbon, Dick, and he's gone! Just do it!"

Gripping the ends of the razor ribbons in his grasps, Robin pulled and increased the tension even more, causing the edges to further cut into the Ravager.

"Ah," the Ravager gasped, his body shaking, and his eyes still locked onto Dick. _Those eyes…_ He couldn't bear to look at them so hurt but for the life of him he couldn't look away either.

_Stop it!_

"Just do it, Robin!" Slade shouted, "That's an order, Robin!"

_Stop it!_

The Ravager's eyes pleaded.

"Do it, Robin!"

Dick squeezed his eyes shut, his nails digging into his palms. _Stop it! _His heart beat so hard and fast that he thought it may burst. _Stop it! Stop it!_ "Stop it!" He screamed uncontrollably, as he felt his hands gather more ribbon into them, "This is mine! This is mine! Give me back what's mine!"

"My god…" Slade whispered in the secret study almost shocked.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Ravager's scream endlessly filled Robin's ears. _It was so close to that noise he had longed to hear from so long ago…that excruciating sound he had heard when he watched his parents die…when he died...  
_

"_Addieeeee!"_ the name entered his brain and interrupted the scream. Suddenly, everything in Dick's vision went red. He arched his back and passed out. As he lost consciousness he felt the tension of the Xynothium ribbons relax and slip from his hands.

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The light was so pure and bright that when Dick opened his eyes. _Was it dawn already? _Squinting he could make out the shape of Slade's mask. "Slade," Dick spoke softly, reaching up to touch the mask, "Darling, is that you?"

Slade's gray blue eye widened. Was that a look of shock or happiness in it? With a strong hand he gripped the young man's palm and brushed the hair out of Dick's eyes, "Addie?"

All of the sudden, as if rudely awakening from a dream, Dick flinched away from Slade's touch. He fluttered his eyes, blinking away the serene glaze that had settled on them, "Sir, master? What happened?"

"Your body went through what they call 'suit rejection,'" Slade answered, retracting his hand almost sadly. "It is usually brought on by low Xynothium levels in the host's blood," he continued, "and I suppose the sudden drop in Xynothium flow pressure as a result of the Ravager's cuts may have brought it about this time. Yet I think I may further concentrate your Xynothium dose again when we get back to the estate. But you don't worry about that right now, alright?"

Slade then gently gathered the young man up in his arms and carried him to the car waiting outside the train station. The streets were still wet but it was no longer raining.

"Take us home, Wintergreen," Slade said flatly.

"Right away, sir," The manservant closed the door behind them and started the car.

"I'm sorry, Master…" Dick half mumbled, trying to fight off a heavy fatigue that seemed to weigh heavily on all parts of his body, "I failed you…"

"No," Slade stroked the young man's dark head in his lap, "you did wonderfully. I know I asked for his head. But his death will suffice."

"So," tears began to well up in Dick's eyes, "he's really dead?"

"Yes," Slade laughed softly, "Though in my business we usually like to confirm death with a body when I arrived at the train station, neither the Ravager's body nor any part of him was to be seen. However, based on the amount of blood there, I think it is safe to say he is no more. You see, out of instinct, the dying usually struggle futilely and drag themselves elsewhere before succumbing to fate. So fear not, my little Robin. He's gone and I am here, now. You just sleep, ok?"

With that, Dick's eyes fell firmly shut, pushing the tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes down his face.


	25. Chapter 23: Requiem

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation. Please note that the characters of "Scott Kyle" and "Emma Yu" are original characters and that Grant's background was my take on his background as developed by the DC staff.

**Author's notes:** Well due to schedule conflicts, I'm going beta-less again and have decided to finish the fic on FFnet before taking on maintaining LJ posting.

Anyway, this is a chapter I've wanted to write since I started this fic. Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, but here's an extra long chapter for your enjoyment. As a refresher I've taken some quotes from the previous chapters that pertain to this one. **Please be warned that it gets a little violent during the dream scene in the beginning and in the scene after "10 years ago…"** if you don't like violence you can skip the "10 years ago" scene and won't missing much other than my take on Robin's back story.

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_(Previously in "Red Robin"— 20 &21…)_

"_Mommy why are you cheeks so smooth?"_ He remembered asking his mother once while she was painting her face for their trapeze act that night. He couldn't recall what she said back, but remembered only that she smiled at him with painted black lips…

…His eyes began to water at the thought of the first night he ever saw blood paint a floor…_Why was he thinking about that night now?_

Before his mind could elaborate further, dark gloved hands wrapped themselves around his palm. Dick looked up at Slade, tearful and taken aback by the sudden comforting gesture, "It's close to the day, isn't it, Dick?"

---

Dick had…a dream…about the Ravager again…Why was his subconscious so fixated on the Ravager?...that night, the dream changed slightly. Dick didn't know how it happened. One minute the dark assassin was pulling him back up to the roof and in the next his warm mouth was over Dick's; pressing its tongue against the polymer mask of the Red X suit; stretching it deep into the young man. Dick awoke with a start when he had become aware of another force pushing firmly into him.

Heart racing, Dick hugged his pillow tightly. _I'm so fucked up._

---

"What do you want?" Dick finally managed to say sternly, getting over his initial shock.

"Want? Why," the sleepy eyed drunk got up and took a couple staggered steps toward Dick, "I want you, dear Robin…I want you …to come to the Children's Hospital Charity event…All you gotta do is sit there and look pretty, ok pretty boy?...if you don't I'm sure Pops would be delighted to shackle you to the bed again after hearing about your little secret adventures as Robin…"

**Chapter 23: Requiem**

"Robin………..Robin…" Over and over again someone whispered his name in the dark.

In front of him, a dim yellow light appeared. A figure stood in front of it with an outstretched hand.

"Robin…" It was Barbara…or was it another red head he had known?

"Robin…" No, now it was a familiar looking girl with short dark hair and a chakra on her forehead.

"Robin…" No it wasn't her…it was… _Ravager?_

"Robin…Addie! NOOOOOOOOO!" Still reaching out, the figure that was somehow all these people at once shouted out painfully. Its terror stricken face faded quickly into darkness as Dick felt himself begin to fall away. Despite this, Dick could still feel its sharp blue eyes stabbing into him and the scream in his ears.

He wasn't aware that he had hit the ground until another familiar, soothing voice stopped him from curling more tightly into a fetal position, "Dick…Shhh…it's alright…"

The young man slowly opened his eyes and rolled onto his back, "Mom?"

When his eyes had grown accustomed to the bright light, they suddenly widened. A foot above him, his mother hung, tangled in a mass of metal wires pulled taut. Her face was painted white and she was wearing a dark, feathered and sequenced trapeze costume. Slowly blood began to thickly coat the wires and drip over his body. She smiled at him with black painted lips and yellow eyes, "Dick…Honey…" Her whisper was abruptly cut short.

Tears streaming down his face, Dick screamed out in horror. He awoke just as one of the metal wires was plucked, "Raven!"

Robin shot up out of bed, his blood pounding in his ears and cold sweat pouring down the sides of his face. Wiping the salty tears off his chin, Dick covered his mouth and tried to regain control of himself. _What have I done?_ _What have I DONE? _His mind murmured repeatedly as the pain of his aching body and the sickening memories of last night's struggle with the Ravager flooded back to him.

"You still don't know why you call out her name do you?" A smooth voice from across the room startled Dick.

"Master?" Dick's heart quickened. _Was Slade watching him sleep again? Did he know that Robin was off his Xynothium doses and having dreams again?_

"Heh. Sorry, kid, it's just me," with a chuckle Grant stepped into a beam of moonlight, revealing himself, "Don't worry though, a lot of people say I'm the splittin' image of Pops and get us mixed up all the time. Then again," Grant lit a cigarette, "you've never seen him without that damn mask, which I find extremely creepy since you keep insisting on calling him 'master,' anyways."

"What are you doing here? And what do you want?" Dick said suddenly snapping out of his terror. He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh dear," The ember at the end of his cigarette brightened momentarily as he took a puff, "you've forgotten our little deal already. Why we're going to the circus, silly."

"Circus?" Robin couldn't help but raise his left eyebrow.

"Yeah, for the Children's Hospital Charity event tonight, Cirque de Lune. Heh, you should feel right at home, Dick 'Flyin' Grayson." Grant threw the tuxedo that was slung over his shoulder onto the end of the bed. It was very similar to the one he was wearing, himself, "Put that on and meet me at the foot of that tree in 15 minutes," he pointed at the large oak just outside the balcony with his cigarette hand, "I've got a limo waiting and this should be easy enough for you. Recovering or not you're still going to keep your end of the deal, pretty boy." With that, the broad shouldered man turned to leave. As he reached for the door he stumbled slightly, running into the nightstand by the bed.

Dick's heart skipped a beat as the hollow lamp on it trembled. Immediately he shot out his hands and caught it just as it began to fall over the edge. Internally, he sighed with relief. He didn't know what he would have done if it had shattered and exposed all the untaken Xynothium pills hidden within it. The last thing he needed was Grant to have more ammo to blackmail him with.

"Must have outdone myself at that party last night," Grant chuckled half to himself as he leaned heavily against the door for a moment. Though he tried to laugh it off, a look of pain flickered briefly across his face before he straightened up and left the room.

Alone, Dick stared at the tuxedo at the end of this bed for awhile trying to think of a way out of submitting to the bastard blonde's wishes.

"Fuck," he finally swore as he got out of bed and began to undress. Having burned just about 10 of his minutes in thought Dick didn't take time to wonder why the floorboards next to his bed were so gritty with sand.

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"What took you so long? It's not like you're suiting up to go patrol the city," Grant put out his cigarette and motioned for Robin to follow him through the wood that bordered that side of the house. "Oh my God," Grant rolled his eyes after a pause, "you did suit up didn't you? You're wearing the Robin suit underneath the tux, aren't you?"

Dick didn't say anything and looked away, unable stop the blood from rushing to his cheeks.

"Freak," Grant snickered and took a swig from a small, flat flask that he had produced from his jacket pocket, "Old habits die hard I guess."

Dick didn't know what it was, but he couldn't shake the nauseous feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach. Something was very wrong about this entire situation. Something about it just seemed…forced… This night was not going to end well. Dick just knew it.

Eventually, they reached a side road at the edge of the wood where a limo sat idle. The thump-thump of a heavy bass emanated from the back.

"Welcome back, Sir," the limo driver stepped out of the driver's side.

"Thank you, Donavon. The girls didn't give you too much trouble while I was gone did they?" Grant smiled.

"Young ladies like those? Of course not, Sir." The servant said with a hint of sarcasm. He opened the door to the back of the limo.

"Good. Well then, we're ready to go now. We're late enough as it is. But then you do know how I love to make an entrance."

"Yes, Sir." Donavon smirked as Grant stepped into the limo and waved at Dick, who was hanging back, to follow.

"Girls!" Half in the car and half out of it Grant smiled gleefully with his arms out stretched.

"Hey, Grant," two whimsy voices chirped at him in unison

The playboy leaned further into the car and hugged a skinny, platinum blonde and a voluptuous red head, both in heavily sequenced dresses, at the same time. After exchanging superficial cheek kisses, Grant turned to Dick who had managed to bring himself closer to the limo.

"Girls, this is my…" Grant hesitated for a second searching for the right term, "this is my friend, Dick. Dick, this is Charlene and Marilynn," he gestured to the red head and then to the blond.

"Aw, he's cute," Marilynn winked at him naughtily, "How old are you, kid?"

Dick's stomach twisted, "N-Nineteen." _Why was he so nervous?_

"Aww, you're so mean corrupting such a young one, Grant," she smiled at Dick with cherry red lips, "But don't worry, Dick I'll be gentle."

"Now I know how you like red heads Dick, but this lovely lady," Grant leaned in close to Charlene, "is mine. Anyways if you're good, Marilynn will pop your cherry for you." He brashly said the last part out the side of his mouth.

"I'm not a virgin!" Robin bristled and snapped at Grant. Something wasn't right about all this and he hated being treated like a juvenile. His cheeks became hot again.

Grant whipped his head around and flashed Dick a look that said, "Oh really?" and "Shut up, freak, you're screwing things over" at the same time.

"Awww, cute," after a stiff, awkward silence, the girls began to twitter drunkenly.

When the door closed behind him, Dick's eyes began to water at the thick air that began to build up within the limo. It smelled sourly of cigars and hard liquor.

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For the entire car ride Dick gazed out the window, watching the buildings pass by in a blur; trying to ignore Marilynn's aggressive flirtations. Trying to think of someone who really loved him but failing. _Anyone who had truly cared about him was either dead or--_ A nerve pinched in his temple, causing him to drop the thought.

Luckily, the platinum blond gave up on her advances after five minutes and Grant was more than happy to "occupy" both dates for the rest of the drive. Thank God they kept their clothes on.

Before Dick knew it, there it was; like a luminescent pearl in the night: the "big top." The billowing fabric of Cirque de Lune had definitely a more modern, artistic look to it than Haly's traditional circus tent. Nevertheless, Dick couldn't stop the tightness that seemed to tug at his heart. _Was it nostalgia? Or was it sadness?_

It was strange to love and hate a place at the same time. _But that's the definition of "home," right?_

Though he had grown to appreciate and love the high wire, trapeze, and anything that had to do with acrobatics, he remembered foolishly growing angry and fighting with his parents whenever they told him to practice. To tell the truth, as a child he never hated the family trade, but only pretended to since he was often ridiculed as the "circus freak" by other children in the area; normal children outside the circus. No matter where Haly's ever traveled; no matter how hard he tried to keep it a secret; they'd always know and he'd always run home with bruises and tears. _How he always wished to be normal._

Usually he ran to hide in Gerdino's, the circus magician's, magic box to cry. He wasn't sure why he always chose the magic box, but Dick had a feeling it had something to do with the want to disappear at those times.

It worked quite well, actually. While in that box he heard a lot things, private things that people usually talk about when they think no one else is around. In fact, it was there that he heard Tony Zucco threaten Mr. Haly

"_Well for the constant difficulty you've been given us," _Zucco had said with his usual egotistic air, "_my employer is doubling your insurance rate and if you don't pay up by midnight, I'm personally going to make you regret it. Don't think you have nothing to lose."_

"_Don't you dare! Don't you thugs dare threaten me in my own house!"_ Mr. Haly had tried to keep his voice low,_ "This is my circus! Now get out! Get out, you son of a bitch, before I have Strong Man make you crawl out!"_

It was also from that box, through a crack in between two of the boards, that Dick watched Zucco cut the rigging to their trapeze act the night his parents fell to their deaths; the night he fell from heaven.

Yet, despite the effectiveness of Gerdino's box, his mother always knew where to find him. _"Oh, honey," _she'd say when lifting the cover to see him curling up tightly in the corner, _"…shh…it's alright…Dick, honey…"_ she'd tenderly caress his back and gather him up in her arms, lifting him out of the box, _"…it's ok my little robin…they're just jealous that you can fly and they can't."_

Though she told him this many a time, hearing it somehow always made things better.

"…_it's alright, Dick…"_

"Dick!" Grant's firm voice broke him away from his thoughts, "Kid, you gettin' out?"

"Oh uh," the boy rubbed his eyes as if that would stop the stinging. Looking around he noticed that everyone was standing outside the car and giving him perplexed looks, "Sorry."

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The first thing Dick noticed when they entered the main tent was the massive raised stage in the middle. Encircling the stage were towering stadium style seating units two or three stories high. They looked portable and collapsible, yet sturdy. However, in all honesty, to Dick the seats looked like a strange hybrid between a monstrous aluminum bleacher and a theatre seat. Around the stage and in the aisles gaggles of well dressed people were gossiping and sipping champagne.

"Ah just as I expected," a handsome man with dark hair smirked at Grant as they entered. He handed Grant a glass of sparkling white champagne, "late. I don't know why but a part of me was thinking that maybe, just maybe, you'd at least come on time for an event _I_ planned."

"It's called making an entrance, Scott, and it might do you some good to learn how to do that for once," smiling widely he shook the man's hand firmly then turned to Dick, "Dick, this is my good friend, Scott Kyle. He's Children's Hospital's largest benefactor, owns one of Jump City's major casinos, and a five-star hotel on the waterfront. Scott, this is Dick Grayson and..." Grant looked around, "and…I don't know where our dates, Marilynn and Charlene, went, but you know…women…" he placed his free hand in his pocket, forced an uneasy smile, and then took a large sip of champagne. "I see you managed to get Senator Johnson to attend," he finally said.

"Oh yeah," Scott glanced at the Senator, "It was kind of hard with all the ambassador assassinations going on but we managed to convince him that our security is high enough for him to join us."

Scott trailed off before changing the subject, "But hey, I want you to meet someone." He turned to a woman dressed in sparkling 1920s inspired dress and touched her shoulder. Kindly ending her chat with an older couple she looked over at Grant and Dick with pure innocence.

"This is my beautiful fiancé, Emma Yu." Scott said as Emma extended her gloved hand, which Grant immediately bowed and kissed.

"Charmed," Grant grinned playfully.

"Honey," Scott continued, "this is Grant Wilson and his friend—"

"Rickie? Rickie Grayson?" Emma blinked several times in disbelief.

"Oh my God, Emma?" Dick's jaw dropped, "Emma, I didn't even recognize you. Y-you look great! Congratulations on the engagement."

"Thanks," she blushed.

"You two already know each other?" Grant raised an eyebrow, "you must get around a lot more than I thought, Grayson." He joked quietly.

"Definitely saves me the trouble of making introductions," Scott added chuckling.

"No," the young woman laughed, ignoring Scott and Grant, "Dick and I grew up together. We were both in Haly's Circus."

"That's right. That's right," Dick smiled fondly, "your family's acrobatic act came on before us. You guys were awesome. Are you still…"

"No no," she shook her head, her diamond earrings glistening, "I quit the act a while ago, went to business college and got a degree in marketing. And that's where I met this handsome fella." She hugged Scott's arm.

"Oh I see."

"Well," Grant piped up, "If you don't mind I'm afraid I need to steal this 'handsome fella' away from you for a moment. We've got some business issues to talk about."

"Indeed," Scott nodded and glanced at his pocket watch, "We'll let you two catch up., but just to let you know, the show is going to start in a few minutes so you should probably take your seats soon. Honey," he kissed Emma on the cheek, "I'll see you there."

"Love you," she said as the two gentlemen walked away. "So, Rickie, tell me," she said as soon as they were out of ear shot, "How is he? Is he as smart as they say he is? Was he really raised by a single mother?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Following Emma's lead, Dick leaned in a little closer.

"Grant. Grant Wilson. You know _Worth_ magazine just named him one of the top ten most powerful men in the nation this year, right? They say though he's young he's quite savvy and, before he came to own it, he saved his company from bankruptcy. It's now one of the most stable in the nation, actually. What's kinda weird is nobody ever heard of him until this year. In fact, some people call him the 'dark horse' because it's like he came out of absolutely nowhere! "

"Really?" Dick glanced over at Grant on the other side of the tent just in time to see a grave look wash over his face as Scott gripped his shoulder and spoke into his ear.

"You didn't know?"

"No," Dick said as he noticed Scott move slightly, slipping a small, white envelope into Grant's dress coat pocket, "not at all."

Scott then smiled and gave Grant a light, playful slap on the cheek before he walked away. Strangely, Grant did nothing to return the smile or silly gesture and, actually, seemed saddened by it. After the dark haired man had left him, Grant stood unmoving for a moment, his deep blue eyes glued to the floor. _What exactly had Scott told him? What had he put in his pocket?_

"Oh," Emma glanced at her wristwatch as people began to clear the central area around the raised stage, "we better get to our seats. Looks like the show's about to start."

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When the usher brought Dick and Emma to their seats, Grant and the girls, one on either side of him, were already seated. A distant, somber look still gripped Grant's face and oddly the girls were silent save for frequent sighs of boredom. As if deep in thought, the blond man slowly put an unlit cigarette in between his lips.

"Sir," the usher spoke up as he gestured for Dick to sit down, "I'm sorry, there's no smoking allowed in the tent."

"Oh. Very well then," was all he said slipping the cigarette back into his inner jacket pocket.

Once the lights dimmed, the stage at the center of the tent immediately sprang to life. As part of the modern ballet theme, classical music burst forth from the speakers as the acrobats in highly decorated, skin tight costumes began to twirl and flip beautifully through the air in complex patterns and motions. More impressive was the fact that they seemed to be using nothing but what appeared to be large ribbons and thin wires for support.

About midway through the performance Emma caught Dick's eye.

"You flew more gracefully." Emma whispered to Dick during a moment of applause.

"You really think so?" Dick chuckled.

Suddenly Grant, who had been fidgeting and acting strangely since the start of the show, stood up. _Was he even watching the stage?_

"That bad?" Scott whispered looking slightly offended, "Leaving already?"

"No, not all," Grant tried to stay low as if that would stop his tall figure from blocking the view of others behind them, "I just need a smoke." He brought two fingers to his lips in a puffing motion. "I'm sorry. I'll be right back."

Hearing this, Scott just shook his head and turned back to watching the performance.

"Excuse me, sorry," Grant quickly made his way to the outside aisle and down the steps to the exit.

Not long after he had left, the stage suddenly went black. Slowly, one after another, sleepy blue and purple lights flicked on. The light crept across the stage, eventually revealing a lonely, pale woman wearing a jet black leotard adorned with glossy feathers. Dick's eyes became wide as he remembered his mother wearing a similar costume and smiling at him with painted black lips. Though quiet at first, Dick immediately knew the music that started to play.

"Oh I love this adagio. It's beautiful," Marilynn said as if trying to impress someone.

"Requiem," Dick corrected her without moving his gaze from the stage, "It's not an adagio. It's a requiem…a song for the dead…" His eyes began to burn again.

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_(10 years ago…)_

Standing on the plank leading to the trapeze, Robin grasped his mother's forearm, "Mom, I need to tell you something."

"Oh, Robin, can't it wait? We're about to go on." She glanced at Johnny, her husband, standing on the plank opposite them and on the other side of the tent waiting for their cue.

"No, mom," Dick insisted, "there was this guy arguing with Mr. Haly and he—"

"And now!" Mr. Haly's voice boomed out of the speakers, drowning out the rest of Dick's sentence, "I present to you, the graceful, the amazing angels without wings, the Flying Graysons!"

After the applause settled down, the circus master continued, "Please be aware they will be performing their one of a kind requiem acts for the first time ever in the history of this circus _without_ the safety of a net!"

With that, the unforgettable requiem began to play.

"Honey, I'm sorry," his mother nodded at his father across the way, sat on the trapeze swing, and began to push off, "it's going to have to wait until after the act."

"No, mom, don't tell dad to go," on the verge of tears he tried to hold onto his mother's arm, "Don't go! Don't go! It's not s—"

Not watching his step, Dick felt himself lose his grip on his mother and fall over the edge of the creaking, wooden plank.

"Dick!"

For a split second he felt nothing but the wind around him. Then, suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop, his father holding him and the music still playing. As fast as lightning, his father had twisted rope from the rigging around his foot, dove down, and caught Dick in a miraculous swoop. They hung there upside down, like bats, for a short moment, "Are you alright, son?"

Dick began to shake his head painfully and looked into his father's eyes, tears streaming down his face, "Dad…I'm sorry—"

His father barely had time to react when the rigging began to snap loudly. _Snap!_ First it was one then several others all at once as all the wires and rope started to come down.

Dick's father's embrace grew tighter around Robin as they plummeted to the ground.

When Dick opened his eyes again, he was lying under the swiveling search lights and on top of his father's limp body. Though the theme music played on the murmur of the crowd began drown it out. Dick's eyes grew large as they focused on the sight of his father's head turned at an unnatural angle. He opened his mouth as if to scream but no sound came out.

_Snap!_ More rigging overhead gave way followed by his mother's scream. Dick whipped his head up in time to see his mother grow tangled in a mass of guide wires.

"Honey…Robin," She struggled to speak as the wires sunk in to her, "I lov--" _Crack!_ The final rope gave way causing the wires around his mother to straighten. Her blood was hot against his skin as it showered down on him, coating him in thick crimson.

Dick's body quivered violently in horror as he looked around himself, the dark feathers from his mother's costume silently fluttering to the ground, his father's neck; his mother's parts; everything; everything covered in red.

And that's when he heard it; the noise from the depths of hell itself that sounded as excruciating to make as it was to hear; the sound that never left his memory; the sound he would live to search for.

Feeling as if his eardrums were going to burst, Dick blacked out. For a fraction of second, as he lost consciousness, he realized that that painful noise he had heard had been coming from him all along.

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"No!" Crying, Dick shot up out of his chair. The applause of the audience around him brought him back to the present. The requiem performance had just ended. Charlene, Marilynn, and everyone around them gave Robin strange looks, as he became aware of his surroundings.

"Oh my God, Rickie," knowing immediately the cause of his outburst, Emma reached out for his hand, "Are you alright?"

Dick flinched away from her grasp. "I'm sorry," he said almost frantically, "I have to…I have to go…I have to get out of here. Excuse me, I'm sorry…"

"Dick wait," Emma began to get up after him when Scott firmly grabbed her wrist.

"Let him go, Honey," Scott said coldly without turning, "We've disrupted the show for other people enough as it is."

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Outside, Robin ran as fast as he could though he had no idea where he was going. He just knew he had to get away.

His vision blurry with endless tears, he rounded a corner and ran square into a man's chest.

"I'm sorry," Dick said quickly as he got up and tried to get around the tall man.

"Whoa, whoa, kid?" Grant grabbed Dick's shoulders and blocked his path again, "What's goin' on? Where do you think you're goin'?"

Not answering, Dick kept his head down and didn't look at Grant. _How embarrassing it must have been for Grant to see him like this…_

After an extended moment of silence, the broad shouldered man then let out a large sigh and reached into his jacket pocket, "Fine you can have some." He held out his silver flask and gestured for Dick to take it.

Robin blinked confused, forgetting his tears for a moment, "But I'm only nineteen."

"So what. I'm only 25." He shrugged, "Besides kid, the way I see it, you've been through a whole lot more than most adults have been through. Trust me, you're old enough." He waved the flask in an encouraging manner.

Dick coughed after he took quick swig from the flask. His eyes began to water again not out of sadness, but in response to the strong alcohol that burned bitterly down his throat.

"Feel better?" Grant laughed and clapped the young man on the back.

Dick shook his head vehemently trying not to cough again.

"What? Oh come on, it's Grey Goose. It's good stuff!"

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After they had walked around for a bit they stopped at the top of a hill on the edge of the circus grounds that overlooked the vast city of Jump.

"I'm sorry," Grant finally said as they took in the glistening sight, "I shouldn't have brought you here." He took a sip from the flask, "I mean I knew about how your parents died and I still made you come. I guess I just thought you could use some fun, you know?"

Dick did a double take of Grant not quite sure he could believe that the egotistic man was sincerely apologizing.

"To tell the truth," Grant continued, "I wasn't really going to tell Slade about your secret Robin outings. Hell, he probably wouldn't believe me even if he listened to anything I said."

"No," Dick said after pause, "It's alright. It's not like you were the one who killed my parents. That was my fault and this is what I deserve." He took the flask from Grant and took another swig.

"Oh come on, kid, would you cut the self-blame? You couldn't have—"

"No. No, you don't understand." Dick spoke to the air in front of him, "I saw the man cut the wires before the performance that night and I chose not to tell them."

"What? But I thought that you just couldn't tell them in time."

Dick chuckled darkly, shaking his head at the ground giving Grant a slight chill down his spine, "Yeah see that's what the newspapers said and for a while I even believed that too. But you see the reality of it is that at the time I hated the circus. I wanted out of it. I wanted my parents to stop."

"Kid…"

"And you see I thought that if the act was ruined that night…if they were embarrassed in front of all those people, we'd have to stop…and then we could be normal. Dad and mom could have normal jobs and I could be normal," Dick's shoulders began to shake again as he felt the acid tears coming back up, "How was I to know that they were planning to do the act that night _without_ a net? I skipped out on practice so much that I didn't know there wasn't going to be a net until Mr. Haly announced it to the audience! How was I to know? How was I to know…" The rest of his sentence was indiscernible from the heavy sobs that finally choked out of his throat.

All of the sudden, Dick was facing Grant's chest again causing him to tense up at first. "It's alright, kid," Grant said tenderly embracing him as he finally broke down and gave into his tears. "It's alright to cry, but no matter how much you blame yourself, you didn't kill your parents. I know you may even want it to be that way, but the thing is that you only know what you were 'supposed' to do after whatever it is finishes. There's nothing you could have done different. That's just the way it is…" he trailed off, his breath warm against the nape of Dick's neck. Subconsciously, almost instinctively Dick's arms found their way under Grant's dress coat and around his firm waist, returning the embrace. After a while, Dick buried his head into Grant's shoulder as if that would stop his sobbing.

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"Feel better?" After what seemed like forever in his arms, Grant let go.

Dick nodded slowly in response to the question this time.

"Good," Grant straightened out his white shirt and buttoned up his dress jacket, "It sounds like it's about intermission inside the tent, so we probably should head back in before the others start to wonder where we are."

Following, Dick realized he was still holding Grant's silver flask. Almost at the tent's entrance, Dick quickly slipped it into his own jacket pocket, thinking to give it back to the blonde man later.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Three-fourths up the stadium style stairs a woman's shriek pierced the usual intermission hubbub, "Some one help! The Senator's been stabbed! He's dead!"

The next thing Dick knew everyone was in a mass panic, fearing for their lives, and running for the exits.

_Pah!_ All of the sudden, Dick felt someone accidentally catch his right side and send over the thin railing of the outside aisle.

"Shit!" Dick's mind screamed as he instinctively touched his belt where a grappling hook would normally be.

_Thwack!_ Someone caught Robin's wrist. Recognizing the hold on his arm, his eyes widened.

"Ravager?" Dick looked up to see Grant's deep blue eyes smiling at him. _Those eyes…_ "You're the Ravager! And…you're alive?"

Grant cocked his head smugly, his closed mouth smile widening.

"You killed the Senator didn't you?" Dick quickly and surreptitiously pulled through the layers of clothes around his waist trying to reach his grappling hook, "The police were on the look out for a lone man wandering the grounds, so you just used me as a cover after you killed him, didn't you?"

Hearing this, the Ravager's slowly smile became bittersweet just as it had a couple nights ago. _Did that mean Dick's accusations weren't completely untrue? _Seeing that Robin's hand had finally fished out his grappling hook, Grant playfully winked at him and opened his hand, letting Dick go.

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**Additional Author's Notes: **Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me…in the past I wasn't quite sure how to fan fic-ing worked online so I hope those of you who have commented in the past who didn't receive an individual response or at least a thank you will forgive my past newbie-ness.

But in a shameless attempt to redeem myself…

Thank you to Rocky-White Wolf of Curses for my first comment ever and continuing support. Also thanks to LilangLuha, kaitou-marron, and Beringer for also being there for me since the beginning and for all your advice in doing this. Thank you loopylouise123 for your continuing support as well. And thank you to coldfiredragon for your comments and adding me to your C2 archive a while ago.

Major Misprint, Blizzard209, Little Red Ravenhood, PHAOE, Crash Slayer, Kirril, and The Brothers of the SilverCross, thank you for your comments before and I'm glad you guys like the fic. And again I'm sorry I wasn't smart enough to respond to you guys when you commented (sweat drop).

Thank you to everyone else who is continuing to read the fic and especially to those who put me on their favorites and/or alerts lists too. I appreciate it very much.

And finally thanks for putting up with my "attention whore" length author's notes and I hope you enjoyed the chapter and caught all those subtle clues! And as always, feel free to comment, coz I love hearing from you guys!

p.s. FYI Looking at my notes it appears that we've only got about 7 or 8 chapters left after this one (gasp!) .


	26. Chapter 24: Ravager

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development. The character Emma Yu, however, is original.

**Author's notes:** **(Please make note of the content warning in bold below.) **Ok. Ok. So, I know that for those of you who know the comics and know about the Ravager (the 1st one), finding out Grant's secret wasn't that big of a surprise since his identity is pretty clear in the comics. But I still hope you guys had fun with it anyways and that it makes sense now (I tried to drop subtle clues to it but I wasn't sure if anyone caught on or had their suspicions, lol. Tho I'm horrible at surprises so I probably wasn't that sneaky and you probably already knew).

FYI tho…I've elaborated the embrace Grant and Dick share in the first to last scene of the last chapter (Ch 23). If you wanna take a look, it's the paragraph that starts with "All of the sudden, Dick was facing Grant's chest again…" (But that's all I've edited other than some typos).

Well, as always, enjoy and review, please:-D Give me some sign that you're alive, lol…

**WARNING: This chapter contains much violence as well as a lime (specifically advanced non-con Robin molestation). Please read at your own risk! If you are easily offended, don't read it. For those who do read it, if it really is too much, just let me know and I'll try and edit it to tone it down.**

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_(Previously in Ch 21…)_

All of the sudden Dick's eyes widened. There was movement in the reflection of the Ravager's red lenses. Robin whipped around in time to see three familiar figures. One held out an iridescent, sonic cannon. _Where had he seen them before? _Dick could have sworn he had seen them at least in a dream once.

"Hold it right there!" The cannon bearing one shouted.

**Chapter 24: Ravager**

Dick quickly deployed his grappling hook as he slipped out of the Ravager's grip. It sunk deep into a support beam overhead, bringing Robin to a sudden halt a few feet above the ground.

Slipping underneath the collapsible seating unit, Dick tore out of the restrictive tuxedo. He would move much faster and have a better chance of catching Grant without it.

_Stupid!_ His mind whirled as he removed his wallet and Grant's flask from of his dress jacket and pants pockets before throwing the suit aside. _Stupid fuck! Once again, he's used you! And you gladly let him use you…_ Robin viscously pulled his dark mask down over his eyes. _Stupid!_

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"Cyborg, I do not understand," Starfire flew swiftly along side Vic as he ran through the panicking crowd towards the main events tent. In one swift motion she ripped off the black formal dress she was wearing over top her usual purple attire before continuing, "I was sitting right next to the man of Congress and I did not see anyone of suspicion approach him."

"Yeah I didn't see anything weird either," Beast Boy chimed in, swooping down from the skies as a hawk and then changing quickly into his cheetah form to keep up, "I must have circled the circus grounds a billion times. But on my way here I did find this tuxedo under the bleachers." He nodded to the rumpled tuxedo now on his back, "Looks like the killer was incognito."

"I don't get it. My scanners also didn't pick up anything unusual before or during the show." Cyborg dodged a stream of people running out of a side tent, "How could anyone disguised only in a tuxedo get past the Congressman's body guards _and _the surveillance systems _I _designed for this thing. Man, all I can say is that whoever this guy is he's good. There ain't no one I know of who could pull ninja shit like that. Not on my watch! No one other than—" Vic stopped himself, hoping the others weren't thinking the same as he. But it was too late. The others had already slowed their running to a stop and were staring at him with sad, distant eyes.

"Wait," Beast Boy's eyes grew large like a doe's, "you don't think that—"

"Robin?" Starfire finished his sentence for him, her eyes becoming moist.

Cyborg cast his eyes to the ground, "Who else could it be? We all saw him partnered up with that Ravager assassin guy on the rooftops after Ambassador Nabakov was killed earlier this week. I mean he was acting like he didn't even know us…"

Despite the shrieking of the manic crowd running around them, a silence settled among the three Titans.

"Beast Boy," Vic said finally, "That suit…I'll bet it smells like Robin, doesn't it? He was here tonight, wasn't he?"

Now a green bloodhound, Beast Boy nodded and whined sadly after sniffing the suit. There was no mistaking his scent.

Vic shook his head at the dirt beneath his feet, "Without Raven he…you saw what he did to Terra before he escaped several months ago…and, again, we did see him with the Ravager a few days ago. I mean I hate to say it but…we all know he's capable of just about anything and there's no telling what state of mind he's in right now."

"No," Starfire cried, "Robin is not capable of the things you are suggesting! I am certain that everything will be explained when he returns."

"Star," Cyborg looked up at her, "I'm sorry. But I don't think he'll be coming back on his own free will. Since Raven was shot, he hasn't been the same. I know it's hard for us, as his friends and teammates, to accept that. But it's the truth. We have to come to terms with the fact that the next time we see him, he may no longer see us the same as he did before…he may no longer be one of us."

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_God damn it!_ Fuming with frustration, Dick slammed his fist against the trunk of the old oak tree just outside his room at the Wilson estate.

Despite his usual unwavering and arguably obsessive determination, Robin had decided to return there after finding no trace of the Ravager. In truth, after a few hours of aimless searching at the circus and then the city, the fatigue and pain of his wounds from the night before had finally caught up with him.

However, that didn't change the fact that the Ravager had been right in front of him the entire time._ How could he have not noticed? How could he have let Grant slip away?_

_Now what are you going to do next, Robbie?_ The wheels in Dick's mind continued to spin furiously as he scaled the tree. _Come on Think! Try to remember what he said…his actions…anything that will clue you in on his next move or target._

"The white envelope…" Dick said aloud as he planted his feet and perched on the edge of the balcony. _That's right…Scott had slipped it into Grant's pocket right before—_

Suddenly a loud crash interrupted Robin's thoughts. The end of a long chain with large iron links had shattered through the French doors just opposite him. With great velocity, the end whipped around Dick, pulling his arms tightly against his body. The chain then lurched back, violently pulling him through the broken glass doors and into the dark room.

Flying back in, Robin came to a sudden stop when his jaw met Terra's steel tipped boot. Before his eyes could focus on his surroundings, she struck him once, twice before he hit the ground. Looping the chain whip around his neck she pulled it more tightly around him, choking him and causing the links to cut into his costume. Grinning, she raised her leg to strike him down again but, a dark glove touched her shoulder, stopping her momentarily.

"Master!" Dick gasped, his throat straining against the loop around his neck.

"Master, am I?" Slade chuckled darkly, "Really, Robin, if I was your master you wouldn't have left and you wouldn't have disobeyed me. Nor would you be tied up in Terra's iron ore whip and Terra and I wouldn't be here. Isn't that right, Terra?"

Terra flashed a wolfish smile, her hand grinding two adjacent links against each other. She was enjoying this.

"My God..." Dick thought, his eyes widening as they focused on the stone whip, "the sand!" It all became clear now. The sand on the roof top that nearly caused him to fall during his second encounter with the Ravager; all those times there was sand on the floor boards by his bed; it meant that Terra had been there _every_ time, watching him and going through his things. She had seen him hide the Robin suit under the floor; saw him enjoyably fight the Ravager two nights ago; she had seen it all and had told Slade everything!

"I took you in," Slade continued, scowling at the young man on the floor, "nursed you back to health; trained you; gave you phenomenal power with Red X. I treated you as if you were my son. No. Better than my son. You were," he began to circle Robin, "my apprentice. So imagine my disappointment, Dick, to find that despite everything I've done for you, my efforts may have largely been wasted." Coming full circle, he stopped and crossed his arms, his eye smirking at him, "Heh, we may even have to start chaining you to your bed, again, after all."

"Sir…please…" was all Dick could think of to say.

"But first," Slade went on, ignoring Dick's pitiful words, "Terra, would you be so kind as to show Mr. Grayson the error of his ways."

"Sir, I'd thought you'd never ask," Terra tugged hard on the chain, reeling Dick in close. One after another, she buried her blows into him, each time tightening the chain. She struck him endlessly and ceaselessly across his face; deep into his chest and abdomen leaving him gasping for air and spitting blood. After a while, his vision became blurry. He then sank to his knees and vomited.

"Hahahahahaha," Terra cackled, "Pathetic," She said leaning in close. She then forcefully gripped Robin's bruise blackened jaw causing him to groan in pain. "See," she hissed softly, almost seductively into his ear, "I told you that I'd make you wish were you dead. You want it don't you? So beg me for it. Beg me to send you to hell!"

Narrowing his nearly swollen shut eyes, Dick whipped his head forward, head butting the blonde earth mover. Swiftly bringing his legs around, he managed to kick her once across the face with one foot and then to the floor with the other.

"Hit me again, bitch! I dare you." He spat despite the tight chain around his neck. His arms still tied tightly against his body, he placed his heel on her sternum, "I double dare you!"

Terra scowled. Slowly she closed her grip on her end of the chain.

All of the sudden, Robin was struck by a firm kick to his spine that sent him across the room. It was Slade, his blue eye aflame with rage.

Dick slammed against his nightstand, shattering it and the hollow lamp that had been on it. The red pills that had been discarded within it showered to the ground, raining down on Robin's aching body. He groaned painfully.

Widening initially, Slade's eye narrowed into a thin slit, "My my my we've been a very bad bird haven't we?"

"Ahhhh!" On her feet, Terra shrieked furiously, charging Robin.

Slade shot out his arm, holding her back. "That will be enough, Terra. Don't you have a mission to return to Titan Tower, anyway?"

"But, Master," Terra whined.

"Enough! Your part is done here. Now go. Go back to Titan Tower as we planned. Leave the rest to me." Slade held out his open palm.

With a hurt look on her face, Terra handed her end of the whip over to Slade and took a couple hesitant steps back. "As you wish, Master," she bowed once before leaving.

"So we've been skipping doses have we?" Slade said grabbing a fist full of tablets off the floor with his free hand, "This would explain why your Xynothium levels were always much lower than I had calculated…and it even explains why the Red X suit rejected you last night. Tsk tsk tsk, Robin," Slade wagged his finger back and forth, "we all know what the doctors say will happen if you don't take your medicine. But, you know as they also say," dropping the end of the whip he grabbed Dick by the throat and lifted him slightly off the ground, "a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down!"

Still bound by the whip, Robin kicked and writhed futilely as Slade forced fistful after fistful of Xynothium pills down his dry throat. Eventually, as if suddenly growing tired, Dick's body grew lax as the drugs began to take effect.

Finished with most of the tablets, Slade let go of the young man, setting him down. Without constant tension, the loops of the whip had grown loose around Dick's body. It slowly slid to the floor and landed in a heap around Dick's ankles.

Dick blinked sedately several times as if in effort to steady his spinning head. He then tried to take a few staggered steps, but only tangled his feet further in the iron ore whip.

"W-what have yea done t- me?" He slurred as he lost his balance and fell forward. His limbs were so heavy that he couldn't find strength to move them anymore. It was as if he was paralyzed.

Slade's eye only smiled at the young man as he caught his limp body in his arms. His face was so close to Slade's mask that he could hear the older man's breath sigh heavily against the other side.

"Nothing that a teacher wouldn't have done for his potential protégé," Slade finally answered in a maniacally soft tone, "Oh, I still have so much to teach you, Robin." His breath sighed hotly against his mask, "I'm sorry but _violent_ force appears to be the only way to make you learn and I cannot allow any of your potential to go to waste." He smirked, his blue-gray eye gleaming, "It's best this way, Robin. One day you will understand, for you will be my _finest_ student."

After a moment of silence, the soft clicks of Slade undoing the clasps of his mask were the only things that Dick could hear.

Though the room was dark and Dick's vision was blurring, a small gasp escaped his mouth when he saw Slade's face. His heart skipped a beat. Save for a missing eye and several weathering years, there was no doubt about it. Grant really was the splitting image of his father. Yet, before Dick could make out any distinctive features, the older man kissed his swollen lips roughly, forcing his tongue against the back of Robin's throat until it hurt.

Tears welled up in Dick's puffy eyes as he was paralyzed and unable to resist Slade as he progressed to hungrily nip and lick the nape of his neck. Meanwhile the dark teacher's hands slowly made their way down the length of his body.

_Why aren't the drugs knocking me out cold yet?_ Dick's mind cried_. Why can I still feel!_

Robin's utility belt landed with a dull thud at their feet after Slade removed it from his slim waist. Dick let out a small, half whimper when Slade grabbed his vulnerable flesh.

"So sensitive," Slade murmured caressing the quivering tip, "you haven't done it many times have you? You're practically a virgin aren't you?"

Dick squeezed his eyes shut, praying in vain that his male instinct wouldn't respond to the aggressive touch.

After a long moment, Slade let go of the young man and threw him onto the bed. Dick's breath quickened as the older man greedily tore the tattered Robin suit off his trembling body. Once he was finished removing the suit, Slade paused at the end of the bed for a small instant, almost as if to morbidly admire the dark bruise and scar patterns across the pale body laid out before him.

The burning tears continued to build behind Robin's eyes as he tried to concentrate on the stark white ceiling above as Slade removed his own clothing.

_Raven. _The name popped into Dick's head just as it did during all his other times of distress. _Raven where are you? I need you…_

"Don't you see, my dear little Robin? You can't run from me," Slade said when he was undressed. He placed his hands on Robin's parallel legs, cupping the young man's smooth knees under his coarse hands, "You belong to me."

Slade began to push Dick's delicate legs apart when, suddenly, a large bang and crack came at the door as it was kicked down by someone outside of Dick's field of vision.

"You!" Slade shouted at the long shadow standing in the doorway, "You're alive!"

"Surprised to see me, huh?" A familiar voice responded, "But, please, don't get up."

With a flick of the wrist, the shadow shot out a dark dagger that hit Slade square in the forehead. Eye wide open, Slade took a couple steps back, fell against the wall, and sank to the floor, his head upturned toward the ceiling.

"Raven?" Dick whispered to the distorted silhouette looking down at him.

"No," the dark figure said unbuttoning its white dress shirt and then placing it around Dick's shoulders. It was just barely long enough to cover his nakedness like a short nightgown, "You're just a couple letters off. It's me. Ravager."

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**Additional Author's notes:** Well what did you think? Don't worry…Slade isn't dead ;-). This thing is far from over yet and I still have a couple twists up my sleeve mwahahaha…

However, gasp! We only 6 more chapters left! Now the chapters aren't written yet…so that number is just a loose estimation…and who knows things might change if I get a sudden stroke of evilness…(more maniacal laughing…)


	27. Chapter 25: Mother

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development. The character Emma Yu, however, is original.

**Author's Notes: **This is the chapter where some things of the subplot/conspiracy come together! Sorry if it gets a little complicated here, but I hope it makes sense! Pay attention to the things that Mad Mod, Slade, and Slade's journal are saying. If it's still confusing, let me know, and I'll try to clear things up.

Well enjoy! And let me know what you think!

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_(Previously in Ch 17, 21, & 22…)_

Grant glanced at the scribbled notes and papers that surrounded Slade before he left the room. "Just, what are you planning, Father? Why do you need that boy so badly?" He trailed off as his eyes finally locked onto the weathered trunk at the foot of the desk.

---

"_You're a lucky boy…such a lucky boy…yes you are…"_ A mother's voice murmured in the back of Dick's mind. _When did his mother say that? Had his mother ever told him that? No…it was—_

---

_(After suit rejection…)_

The light was so pure and bright when Dick finally opened his eyes. _Was it dawn already? _Squinting he could make out the shape of Slade's mask. "Slade," Dick spoke softly, reaching up to touch the mask, "Darling, is that you?"

Slade's gray blue eye widened. Was that a look of shock or happiness in it? With a strong hand he gripped the young man's palm and brushed the hair out of Dick's eyes, "Addie?"

All of the sudden, as if rudely awakening from a dream, Dick flinched away from Slade's touch. He fluttered his eyes, blinking away the serene glaze that had settled on them, "Sir…master? What happened?"

For a moment Slade didn't answer as he slowly, almost sadly retracted his hand.

**Chapter 25: Mother**

"Dick! No! No! Don't close your eyes! Stay awake, Dick! Dick Grayson! Can you hear me? Stay awake!"

When Dick became conscious again, he was vaguely aware that he was in the passenger seat of a speeding car. Grant's dress jacket hugged him tightly. The heavy rain outside hit the windshield at a harsh speed as Grant pushed the gas. Dick blinked sleepy eyed at the thick silver streams of rain running nearly horizontal on the windows.

"How much did he give you, kid?" Grant said firmly, glancing at him as he drove, "I may be able to reverse the affects of the Xynothium derivative if you just tell me how much he gave you. Do you know how much it was?"

Dick blinked hazily at the blonde, "Honey," someone else's words seeped out of Dick's mouth as if his lips had a life of their own, "Slade…is that you? S-Slade…darling…"

"Dick?" Grant furrowed his brow not quite sure of how to respond, "No. It's me. Grant." He glanced back and forth between the young man and the road, "I hit Slade with a poisonous dagger, but being the product of military experiments and, thus, immortal bastard that he is, it'll only slow him down a bit. But, don't worry, you're safe now. I'll protect you."

"Protect me, huh?" Dick smiled tiredly, "You really are so much like _him_. Grant, my little brave knight…Grant…my sweetie…my lucky boy. You're such a lucky boy…yes you are…such a lucky boy…"

Recognizing the words, Grant's eyes widened. _It can't be..._

"Dick? What did you just say?" He glanced at the young man he had gone limp in the passenger seat, again, "Dick! Open your eyes! Dick!"

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Opening his eyes, Dick found himself, now staring at a crystal chandelier. A heavy fog still clinging to his brain, he tried to move only to realize that Grant was carrying him, clutching him close.

"I'm sorry to come to you like this, Scott, but I need a room," the Ravager's breath was short suggesting he had been running, "A safe one."

"Of course, Grant, any time. Follow me," Scott Kyle said with a matter-of- fact tone, as if Grant had asked him for sanctuary before. He stepped out of Robin's peripheral vision, "You can take the blue suite. It's not as impressive as our other rooms so we hardly book it. But it does overlook the hotel's atrium garden."

"Slade…where are we going?" Dick mumbled, his head lolling back over Grant's forearm.

"No, it's still me. Grant," Grant looked into the young man's dark hazy eyes, "We're going somewhere where he can't get to you."

"Is he going to be alright?" Scott said holding the elevator door open, "Shall I call the emergency room?"

"No, they wouldn't know what's wrong with him. But I think I have an idea what's going on."

"And you think you can treat him?"

"I hope so. If not, I'll--"

Despite his efforts to keep them open, Dick's eyes fell firmly shut.

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"Come on…come on...talk to me. Tell me something," Back at Slade's estate, the Ravager hurriedly leafed through his father's journal, "There has to be a way to reverse the effects…"

It had been three days and the kid's condition hadn't improved. One moment he'd be conscious, feverishly mumbling incoherent sentences and the next he'd be tossing and turning as if caught in a constant nightmare. What was worse was that most of Dick's gibberish that Grant _did_ understand were words that he recognized; familiar words and sayings that he had heard his mother say when he was a boy. There was no way that Dick would have known those things to be whispering them. _No way._ Not unless Slade was planning to—

Grant exhaled sharply and continued to skim the pages before him. He had a bad feeling about all this, though he prayed that he was wrong about his father's true intentions.

Earlier that night, Grant had managed to track down Doc Mad Mod who had recently awoken from a coma. According to his medical chart he had arrived at the hospital several months ago with almost every bone in his body shattered. "Falling rock/ land slide" had been listed by the doctors as "Cause of injury."

But despite the Ravager's intense, coercive interrogation methods—methods he had learned in the military—he couldn't get Crazy Maddy to tell him anything about what he had done for Slade. Grant wasn't sure if Mod was afraid of his father or if he simply had gone cuckoo beyond help.

"Tell me, Maddy!" Grant had shouted, "I know you've done work for Slade before! Tell me what he's doing! Tell me why he's erased Robin's memory of the Teen Titans!"

To this Maddy had only laughed hysterically, shaking in Ravager's grasps, "Oh memory is a funny thing, me duckie. Ya see you gotta get rid of somethin' to make room for somethin' else."

"What the hell is he making room for, Maddy?" The Ravager growled hotly, "What the fuck is Slade up to and how do I reverse whatever that bastard made you do to Robin!"

"Reverse? HA! You can't stop it, Govnah. Once it's begun you can't stop it. Hahahahahaha. Not unless you know how to turn back bloody time…not unless you can put everything back to the way it was before….HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The old man continued to laugh even after Grant had left the hospital room.

Having gotten no where with Mad Mod, the Ravager had made his way to where he was now: his father's study back at the estate. After having rifled through the weather beaten trunk, Grant came upon the leather bound journal that he was now flipping through.

"Come on..." he whispered turning the pages quickly, knowing that any moment he could be discovered. Suddenly he came across what appeared to be a government document stuck in between two pages of the notebook.

"Xynothium," the document read, "a rare element with chemical make up similar to that of hemoglobin found in human blood thus allowing its unique binding properties. An enhanced derivative (Xynothium X) is known to take on and enhance any and all characteristics of any substance, organic or inorganic. Best results observed in living subjects. For example, when injected into a dog, further heightening of senses (smell, sight, and hearing), strength, agility, and reflexes were observed as well as heightened aggression. Will start voluntary human trials immediately."

Grant's eyes widened slightly as he came upon more and more government military memos. These were about his father! "Treatment is only successful in some subjects, suggesting that, like processes that require blood type matching (i.e. organ donation, blood transfusion, etc), discreet matches to Xynothium derivatives must be sought out. Side effects include accelerated healing and possible longevity," later memos read.

"Permanent psychosis imminent," was underlined twice in the last government memo.

Though slightly shaken, Grant continued reading his father's hand written notes after the memos. "But why," he wondered in the back of his mind as he read on, "Why would Slade keep the military research notes on himself? They aren't exactly the thing you keep around to show the family when they come to visit."

As he read the next pages, the look of shock on his face grew while his hands began to shake. "No it can't be," he said, flipping through the book more madly. Slade had been giving Dick the X derivative just as the military had done to him, but in _higher doses_.

"But why? Why was he doing this? How could he think the kid could survive these dose amounts!" Grant's mind cried, "There's gotta be a way to undo the effects of the X derivative …there's gotta be a way to save the kid. According to the journal he's only put Dick through part of the treatment. So there should be some time left. There's just gotta be a way to stop this."

"If Xynothium X can take on and, thus, enhance any characteristics of whatever substance it comes in contact with," his father's scrawled handwriting continued, "then theoretically if Xynothium X is extracted from the blood of a subject taking it (Subject A) and given to another subject (Subject B) the Xynothium extract—having interacted with Subject A's bodily system and DNA—should therefore impart Subject B with--."

At that point, Grant stopped reading. His mouth fell open and he lost hold of the book. It hit the floor with crisp _thwack!_

"No…it can't be…" Grant brought his shaking hands to his mouth, "This _can't be_ the reason why Dick was saying those things…the things that _only_ _mother had told me_—"

All of the sudden, something glistened in the reflection on the window opposite him. The Ravager gasped and dove to the side, dodging a shot gun blast from his father's gun. Somersaulting he threw two ninja darts in Slade's direction and made for the window that he had come through earlier.

However, Grant was not nearly halfway through the window when a sand stone spear pierced his right shoulder, pinning him against the bookcase on the opposite wall.

"Ah!" Grant shouted in pain and surprise.

"Nicely done, Terra," Slade rested his shotgun on his shoulder, "Good thing you came in early for your report on the Titans' status."

"Indeed, Sir," she stepped off her floating boulder and into the study.

"Why," Slade turned to the Ravager gasping heavily against the wall, "if it isn't the Ravager, himself," he pulled off the Ravager's dark cowl, "come to grace us with his presence."

"Oh my God, Grant?" The Ravager heard Terra whisper in surprise. She lowered her head slightly and hid her face in her long blonde locks, suggesting that she had stole many infatuated glances of him since he had arrived at the estate a few months ago.

"You know I applaud you on your creativity with that little poison dagger you used on me last time," Slade continued without noticing Terra's reaction, "The poison kept me from down just long enough for you to get away, heh." Producing Grant's old dagger from his utility belt, he turned it over once in his hand.

"Oh you liked it, huh?" Grant tried to smile despite his pain, "I knew you would."

"Not as much as you'll like it," Slade said sadistically shoving the blade into his son's side and twisting. Grant howled in pain as he felt his own warmth flood down his body.

"Bastard," the Ravager managed to say, "Joke's on you. While in the military, I developed an immunity to it…Besides the HIVE gave me powers far greater than your's, anyways." He coughed.

"Heh," Slade chuckled, "Is that so? Somehow I highly doubt that, Grant. Either way, _you're not_ immortal and _you_ can still bleed to death." Slowly, he leaned close to Grant, as if he was enjoying the sound of his son's blood spattering against the study room floor.

"But, tell me, Grant," with a final twist, Slade withdrew the blade and began to pace back and forth, "when did you start taking Xynothium? And how long has the HIVE been giving them to you?"

Breathless, Grant laughed and tried to smirk, "Oh you know, I think it all may have something to do with me growing up without a father figure… and hanging out with the wrong group… which then lead to killing small animals in the backyard and knocking over liquor stores…you know things like that…textbook stuff….Ahhh," unable to upkeep his sarcastic tone he winced, "Besides I haven't been on the shit as long as you…not to mention that it seems that the HIVE has been supplying you with a lot more than me. Since when did the HIVE start supplying you anyways?"

"Oh dear," Slade's eye narrowed, "I was hoping you hadn't read everything. But I guess you have."

"You're crazy, old man," Grant's voice started to become hoarse and sweat began to pour down his face, "You can't possibly think you can bring _her_ back this way. It's not right! You can't do this!"

"Oh but I can," his father snickered coyly, "and I will. No doubt you came here looking for a cure though there is none. I'm sure you've already confronted Maddy and that he's told you the same." He stopped pacing for a moment and stared directly into Grant's eyes, "You can't stop me, Grant. Once Dick put on Addie's suit," he nodded to the Red X costume hanging in a case at the corner of the study, "there was no stopping it. Dick was a _perfect match_ for her."

"You're sick! Fuck you, old man!

"Hahaha," Slade laughed, "Dick is already showing signs of accepting her, isn't he? He's having her memories as dreams, isn't he? He's talking like her, isn't he? Tell me, Grant. Tell me how wonderful it sounds to hear her voice again!"

Sad and disgusted, Grant cast his eyes to the floor indicating that his father was absolutely right.

"Excellent…" Slade smiled observing the frustration in Grant's face, "Here, _Son_…let me show you something so you may truly see how inevitable my success is."

Reaching around the bookshelf, Slade pushed a button that caused the case holding the Red X suit to sink into the floor revealing another hidden room.

For a moment Grant forgot his pain. His eyes widened and began to tear at the sight before him. _Was it a look of happiness or horror?_

"M-Mother?" The Ravager gasped.

**Additional author's notes:** What'd you think? I'm not entirely pleased with the flow of this chapter, myself…but still if you have any thoughts I'd like to hear them. Again, at least let me know if it's too confusing and, I'll try to clarify things.

Also, the next chapter will be a bonus chapter where there will be a little bit more explaining among other things as well. Thus it appears that we actually have 6 chapters left instead of 5 more chapters after this one. Heh.


	28. Chapter 26: Stay

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

p.s. Damian Dahrk is a canon character.

**Author's notes: **Sorry for the long wait…not too long ago I had suddenly got the urge to write a Cyclops X Iceman one shot…it's coming along nicely but then in the middle of that I got the urge to write the rest of this chapter…lol oy….lol.

Please also note that I've fixed a little inconsistency in "Chapter 23: Requiem" in regards to Emma's little blurb about Grant being named one the "top ten most powerful men." Rather than having him only being MIA the year prior I've made him completely missing for several years (since the HIVE had sent him to kill the Titans) until the current year. Sorry about the slight change…but trust me…it'll all come together soon!

Anyways, here's the follow up to the shocking discoveries made last chapter. Beware that there's going to be a lot of information in this chappie as I try to connect everything and make it fit into the plots presented in the comics and the cartoon. (I hope you remembered what happened last time!)

Enjoy and please review!

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**Chapter 26: Stay**

"Dick….Dick," another whisper called out to him in the cold darkness. Robin's eyes snapped open. His breath froze in his lungs. Holding out his arms, he frantically tried to feel his way towards the familiar voice. _Where am I!_ His mind raced as his fingertips ran across the rigid structure of the furniture and the wall.

Though he had no idea where he was or even what day it was faint, scattered memories haunted his mind. He shuttered at his most vivid recollection of Slade violently stripping him naked.

"…Dick…" the voice was quiet.

Not too far off the dim light of a burning matchstick flickered briefly. Before the flame went out, Robin could have sworn he saw an eerie figure sulking in the corner. It was hard to look at it straight on and in between flickers of the light its form seemed to shift from a broad shouldered man to a familiar young woman with dark hair.

"Ravager…is that you?" Dick's steps were hesitant as more broken recollections flooded his brain.

Slowly he remembered Grant storming into his bedroom and covering him in his dress shirt. After that, all he could gather were random bits and pieces of their escape: the Ravager's strong arms holding him tight while he ran; the gentle beat of the Ravager's heart nuzzling his ear; the man's tender touch when he dressed his wounds; the deep intensity of Grant's blue eyes—_those soft eyes_—watching over him.

_Why?_ Dick began to wonder. _Why, Ravager, are my memories after that night only of you?_

All of the sudden, a dry scratching sound came from behind him.

"Ravager?" Dick's heart skipped a beat, a strange, subtle feeling of hope and longing for the other man welling up in his breast as he turned.

With a final scrape the match illuminated revealing a girl with short, dark hair and a gushing wound in her forehead. Her face was so close to his that he could almost taste the blood running over her lips.

"Dick!" She whispered insistently with wide, tearful eyes.

"Raven!" Robin screamed, shooting upright in bed. Suddenly, as if the name had flipped a switch on, Dick finally realized what the name meant and why he was always calling it out. He awoke with tears streaming down his face and the lucid memory of Raven being shot playing in his mind over and over again.

-----------------------------------------

"Ah!" In the hall leading to the "blue suite" Grant doubled over in pain and leaned heavily against the wall. He didn't know how he had managed to escape let alone how he was still alive after his confrontation with Slade not 2 hours ago. Clenching his jaw, he held his shoulder with one hand and his abdomen with the other as if that would stop the wounds from seeping. "Damn you, father!" He slammed a fist against the wall as his eyes began to burn.

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_(2 hours ago…at the Wilson estate)_

"M-Mother?" The Ravager gasped.

It was horrible. It wasn't his mother's body that Slade had stowed in the hidden compartment behind the Red X suit but rather only her head and other fragmented pieces of it. Many of the parts were badly burned, missing large sections, or without skin. Despite the absence of the rest of her body, they were arranged in such a way that was suggestive of a womanly shape. A myriad of tubes and wires connected the dismembered pieces together and to machines that pumped red liquid and air in and out of them. More and more tears rolled off Grant's chin with each empty sigh the machines pushed out of the severed head's lips, "Mother…"

"After all these years…is that _really_ all you have to say to dear old mommy?" Slade snickered darkly, "How disappointing. I expected you to say so much more…" He crossed his arms smugly, "Then again, I suppose this is nothing more than the dead shell left behind by what was your mother. Her true soul, as you've discovered, now lies in the breast of your young companion, Dick Grayson."

"How could you…to mother?" Grant sobbed, "What have you done?"

"Done?" Slade smiled, "It's actually quite amazing, Grant. You see, much has happened since you were supposedly killed by the Titans. Shortly, after your assumed 'death' your mother viciously turned on me again. That time, however, it wasn't with a gun like when she took my eye, but with a fearsome army. Driven insane from the blood that I had given her years before to save her life along with the trauma and guilt of Joseph's condition _and_ your murder by the Titans, your mother finally became Mistress of the HIVE. This, of course, was well before the short period Brother Blood was in charge but well after Damian Dahrk became leader. As mistress, Addie strove for her ultimate revenge: elimination of all meta-humans with superpowers; those she blamed for all the pain in her life. In the end, the Teen Titans saved us all and put your mother out of her misery. The state of her body that you see now was, in fact, how they left her. Or, rather, it is the most I could recover from that night. It's quite sad really."

"No," Grant shook his head in disbelief, "No…it can't be. You're lying."

"Ha!" Slade tipped his head back when he chuckled, "And what would I have to gain from lying about something like this? Though, I suppose I did leave out the part where I was actually there, guiding the Titans along in their 'valiant' fight for safety and justice. Indeed, a part of me had believed that her fate had been inevitable and for the better."

He turned to look into the half opened eyes of the gurgling head before continuing, "But as the years past by, I began to realize how lonely I was without her…how much I needed her even though we had separated. After her death, I had nearly lost all hope, believing that I was doomed to depression and guilt for eternity.

"That is, until last year. While I was hopelessly searching for a way to cure your brother Joseph's muteness and bed ridden state, I came upon classified military records; records about the Xynothium experiments; records that _made_ me what I am. It was then, that I realized the true power of Xynothium. You do know what Xynothium is don't you, Grant?"

Unable to move his eyes from the desecrated remains of his mother, Grant only cried harder.

"It is glorified blood," Slade went on, "Nothing more than a synthetic mock up of altered human hemoglobin and serum. As you've read in my diary, it contains certain reactive compounds that allow it to take on and enhance all features of whatever it comes in contact with. Senses, strength, and even mental capacity increase in human subjects like you and me whose blood has been extensively exposed to Xynothium.

"The reason for its versatile and far reaching enhancements is the fact that blood is a very interesting thing. It is common knowledge that 90 percent of the human genome consists of 'useless' DNA. Having no immediate or apparent contribution to the survival of the human body, it has been suggested that this DNA perhaps codes for more abstract elements in the human life; elements such as memories."

Slade licked his lips, "So, you see, like the many ancient cultures that believed one could obtain the characteristics of another by consuming their blood or heart, I've been giving Dick Xynothium purified from your mother's blood as pumped from those machines you see there. As a result of his treatment, as you are witnessing first hand, Dick is not only taking on your mother's personal traits, but he's inheriting her memories. It won't be long until Addie is reborn and the Dick Grayson as we know it is gone."

"No! NO!" Grant screamed struggling slightly against Terra's stone spear that pinned him to the wall, "Why! Why, father! Of all people…why him!"

"Because…" Slade smiled to himself, "he was a perfect match. At first I thought that my fixation on the boy was merely one of personal fascination. But after studying him, I had found that he was the best host for your mother to be reincarnated into. He was perfect for this treatment, Grant! His flawless bonding to your mother's suit, Red X, was proof of that! Don't you see? It was fate that drew me to him! And it is my destiny to bring her back this way! Honestly, I thought, being the mama's boy that you are, you would be happier." Slade cupped his son's jaw, his blue eye gleaming intensely.

"My God…" Hearing all this, Terra, who had been standing in the room the entire time, placed her gloved hand over her mouth. Becoming weak in the knees, she sank to the floor in shock. As she lost concentration, the stone rod through Grant's shoulder dissolved into sand, causing Grant to slide to the ground, limp as well. Slowly, as if it had a life of its own, his hand closed around a fistful of sand.

"All that remains," Slade said, still firmly gripping the Ravager's chin, "is for her to fully reawaken in him and to return to me. Then, when she dons Red X once more, we will rule the city, no, the world together with an iron fist! It is only a matter of time Grant. There is no cure and there is no stopping it."

Despite his endless tears, the Ravager looked back into Slade's eye defiantly, "The HIVE, now lead by Damian Dahrk, is supplying you with Xynothium, father, and lots of it. I read it in your log. But you do know why they're doing that don't you?" He began to raise his voice, "They want to bring mother back too, but not for the same reasons as you! They want her back as mistress of the HIVE, Slade! Have you forgotten the reported atrocities and genocide she and the HIVE committed against all meta humans? Have you forgotten what the HIVE did to her? How they think she's some sort of chosen one? You can't trick the HIVE, father! They may even know of your true intentions already and are just using you to bring her back!"

"Besides," Grant continued, "if what you say about blood and memories are true, then there is no avoiding the time when she will turn on you and all of us again! Once she is revived, there is no doubt that she _will_ do what the HIVE wants her to do, father! With her they're going to kill us! You won't be able to control her! Not forever!"

"Indeed," Slade closed his eyes, but retained the smug smirk on his face, "Though I wish it weren't true, deep down I know Addie will turn on me once more. But when that day comes, I will be ready for her. I _will _kill her, Grant, and I _will_ gaze upon the beautiful perfection of her, or rather, Dick's battered corpse on that day. That day will be mine. But until that day, I will savor every moment."

"Anyways," he shrugged and turned his back to Grant, "as for 'tricking' the HIVE, you should be one to talk. Honestly, at first I had thought you had come on the HIVE's behalf; to take Robin from me for the reasons you've described so eloquently. But now," he glanced at Grant and chuckled, "Finding you here looking wildly for a way to reverse this process leads me to believe that you too have developed a fascination with Robin and plan to keep him for your own selfish reasons as well."

Grant's eyes widened as if hearing Slade's words had suddenly exposed a startling truth that had previously been hidden from him.

"Heh," Seeing this reaction wash over his son's face, Slade's eye narrowed further, his smile deepening, "I suppose it is as they say, 'Like Father, like son.' There is little difference between you and me, Grant."

Still teary eyed, the Ravager grit his teeth and scowled, "I'm _nothing_ like you!"

With a great ninjitsu flourish, he threw the clenched mound of sand in his palm into the air. Concealed by the small dirt cloud that settled across the room, he narrowly dodged another blast from Slade's shotgun and quickly slipped out of the study through the open window.

-----------------------------------------

_(Present time…)_

Just as Dick was drifting back to sleep, a commotion in the bathroom broke the midnight silence.

"Shit!" He heard Grant swear, "Now where did I put it?"

_He must be drunk again._ Dick laughed to himself when he heard several other items clatter to the tiled floor of the bathroom. However, his laughter faded as the stillness that followed grew.

"Ravager?" Dick called out as he finally gained the will to overcome the tender aches of battered body. Terra had done quite a number on him, alright.

"Are you alright?" He began to turn the door knob.

"No, don't come in!" Grant lunged for the door and leaned on it just as Dick began to push it open, "I'm fine!"

Just as the door snapped shut, Dick caught a glimpse of Grant in the mirror, puffy eyed and covered in his own blood. "You're hurt. Let me help you," Robin spoke to the door, "It's only fair after what you've done for me."

After a quiet moment, the door opened a little, spilling a thin beam of yellow light onto the carpet of the dark bedroom. "Don't worry about it," Grant said calmly, trying to cover up the hoarseness of his voice. "It's nothing," he lied.

He couldn't face the kid, yet; not as the wreck he was now and especially not after what he had learned during his confrontation with Slade. How could he tell Dick the truth about what Slade had done to him? "Maybe the bastard is just messing with me," Grant rubbed his eyes and massaged his temples. Yet, no matter how hard he did so, he couldn't wipe the image of his dismembered mother from his mind; he couldn't deny what he had seen. "Dick needs to focus on getting better. I'll tell him after his wounds heal," the Ravager finally promised himself, "…after he gets better…I'll tell him…"

From the other side, Dick heard Grant lean against the door and sigh heavily as he slid to the ground. Dick followed suit and sat with his back against it so as to maintain the small opening.

"So I see you finally broke your fever and that you're strong enough to get up now," Grant said after a lengthy pause, "How do you like Scott's hotel so far?"

"That's where we are, now, huh?" Dick responded, "It seems nice. But I've only been up a couple hours and I haven't turned on the lights, yet, so I can't say much."

"Is that a fact?" The Ravager laughed to himself.

"What's so funny?" Dick began to think that maybe Grant really was drunk after all, "Why are you laughing so hard?"

"You're really lucky, you know that, kid?" Grant said after he settled down a little, "Most kidnappers don't take their hostages to a five star hotel."

"I'm your hostage, am I?" Dick returned playfully.

"Only until you get better…only until you're well enough to leave on your own," the man on the other side of the door trailed off.

Robin didn't know why, but hearing such words saddened him a little. "That's odd. I thought that usually the hostage can't do anything until the kidnapper says so." Dick said trying to be cheerful again, "You haven't taken many people hostage have you?"

"Heh, no," the Ravager's eyes lingered along the patterned tiles of the floor, "I'm usually hired to kill my targets."

Reminded of true circumstances, the young man's smile melted away. _That's right I almost forgot…_ Dick's cast his eyes to the floor as well. _You're a criminal. You still murder people on a regular basis…_

"But I do know what it's like to be held hostage," Grant elaborated after an awkward pause. "Once when I was kid, me, my mother, and my younger brother were kidnapped by an assassin known as the Jackal." Dick could picture Grant shaking his head as he continued, "He said that he was doing it to get information from my father, but it quickly became apparent that he was working for a man, Damian Dahrk, who was then acting leader of the HIVE. Dahrk claimed that he had been looking for mother all his life. He kept telling her, brainwashing her into believing that she was destined to be Mistress of the HIVE. In fact, mother was so scarred by the brainwashing that after father rescued us she turned a gun on him and took his eye," He squinted at an invisible object on the floor, "All the while, Dahrk and the Jackal…they…" he frowned as the memories still burned at his insides, "….trust me…heh…we weren't exactly staying at a five star hotel."

Hearing this Dick's eyes widened. "No," he said, becoming distant, "they beat and raped you every night even though you begged for them to stop."

The Ravager's eyes grew large and began to well up with tears as the demonic memories bled into his mind. They were going places that he didn't like and it hurt to think of them again.

"To them," the words continued to flow out of Robin's mouth like water, "you were disposable. They realized they only needed Joseph as a means to control your mother, so they made an example out of you. When they were done with you, they threw you out into the open. They wanted to scare Slade away from trying to get us back. But it made him only fight harder didn't it? So hard that he even he underestimated the limits of his abilities which ultimately lead to Joseph's muteness and sickly state…among other things…" He trailed off, spatters of foreign memories overrunning his mind.

"Damn. It's true," Grant thought during the silence that followed, "Dick is remembering _her memories_ instead of his memories of the Titans." Wincing, he clutched the place where Slade had stabbed him earlier. It was still bleeding and it had started to hurt again, "Damn you, father!"

"Ravager?" Dick finally said with a weak voice as if coming out of a trance.

"Yes?" He answered trying to cover up his pain.

"The experiences still haunts you, doesn't it?"

Glancing at his shoulder wound that was still seeping as well, the Ravager grimaced. "Of course," he tried to say normally despite the quickening pace of his breath, "But please, don't pity me, Robin. Just don't worry about me. It happened a long time ago. Ah," he made a small noise as he was growing light headed, "I'm a cold blooded killer and liar, remember? Hell, ironically I'm working for the HIVE now. So I'm just getting what I deserve. Crime fighter good guys like you aren't supposed to pity people like me. It'll help if you just remember that."

"Ravager…" Grant was rambling and Dick could hear the pain in his voice now. Strangely, he also got the slight feeling that Grant was trying to avoid something by changing the subject.

"But y-you you know I still see them some times…" he started to mutter, as a crimson puddle grew around him, "whenever I close my eyes…I see….Dahrk…the Jackal…all those people I've killed…their families…agonizing…crying…over what I did to their mothers, fathers, and children…_everyone_. T-th-that's why I can never close my eyes…why I can't...ever sleep…"

Dick heard a loud scrape against the door and a dull thud. Whipping around, Dick peered through the small opening in the door. He gasped when he saw Grant's limp hand in a growing pool of blood. "Ravager!" Forgetting about his own bruises momentarily, he rammed his shoulder against the door to push the Ravager back and open it further. "Ravager!" He shouted, "Grant! Grant Wilson!"

Once in the marble white bathroom, Dick gathered some nearby towels and pushed them against the Ravager's wounds. Grant moaned. While he held the towels in place he frantically glanced around the upturned room, looking for something; bandages; a phone to call for help; _anything_ that could be of better use to stop the bleeding.

Suddenly, Dick spied a silver object behind the toilet. Briefly letting go of the bunched fabric, Robin grabbed it. It was an empty syringe with an automatic injection needle. Thinking quickly, Dick recalled Slade mumbling something in his earpiece about the Ravager being on a Xynothium derivative during their last fight.

Searching around some more, Dick's eyes finally settled on Grant's half closed fist. Sure enough, when he gently pried open his hand there two Xynothium cartridges in Grant's palm.

Swiftly, he loaded the syringe and tore open Grant's shirt. Through the dark scarlet that covered Grant's body, Dick could make out a thick white scar across his chest, over her his heart. He carefully aimed the needle for the center of the scar.

As Dick drove the needle into Grant's breast, Grant's body lurched up as he let out a howl.

His body then went limp and still at first. After awhile, Dick feared he had killed the man. However, he noticed that the pool of blood around them was no longer growing and that, on closer inspection, the Ravager's chest was moving steadily as he breathed.

With a sigh of relief, Dick started to get up. To be sure of Grant's recovery, he had to call the emergency room.

Yet before Robin was on his feet, Grant grabbed his wrist. "No," he said quietly, nestling his head in the young man's lap, "Stay…"

Dick's eyes widened.

"Stay…" Grant whispered, caressing Dick's wrist with his hand until he lay still again, fast asleep.

**Additional author's notes:** LOL. Ok I just now realized that my "anonymous review" option was stuck on the default and not allowing non-registered users to comment (slaps forehead). So I've enabled it so that even if you don't have an FFnet account you can comment. But please no spamming!

Well Happy H-ween early! (Tho I hope to update again before then…but who knows heh) I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! And again, please review! Coz I love hearing from you guys! (and now those of you who don't have an account don't have an excuse not to comment either! ;-) j/k… )

Squee! Only 5 chapters left!


	29. Chapter 27: Scars

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**WARNING!** This chapter contains a lemon! If you do not enjoy reading explicit sexual actions or are easily offended, stop reading at the part where Dick says "Try me" and skip down to the last section that is divided off where Slade is talking to Terra.

**Author's notes: **For those who like lemons, that's right, I've finally taken the plunge and present to you my very first attempt at such a thing (hopefully I pull it off well). So let me know what you think coz I've never done one of these before. (nervous).

Again, sorry about the wait. I know I told some of you I'd have this chapter posted earlier this week, but work started getting in the way and the scenes took me a little while longer to get them just right. But to try and redeem myself, this chapter is a bit longer than usual. Hope you like it!

To be safe, again…**WARNING!** This chapter contains a lemon! See previous warning.

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_(Previously…in chapter 15, 19, 27, and the previous chapter…)_

"Oh yeah that's right," Grant sipped his amber drink and frowned when he swallowed, "last you heard I was killed by the Teen Titans after the HIVE hired me to eliminate them. Heck, I guess I shouldn't blame you because after that, even I thought I was dead," His hand subconsciously touched a spot on his chest directly over his heart before throwing back the last of his scotch into his gullet.

---

_(After Dick as Red X almost killed Batman and the new Robin…)_

"Bruce, this is crazy! This is the reason why I hated the idea of making him Robin. Jason is just a boy! He almost died last night! All just because you don't want to apologize to Dick or admit that you miss him."

Bruce pushed off Barbara's hand and took a couple small steps ahead of her and stopped, "Are we really talking about me here? Because I don't think I'm the one here who misses Dick."

---

"How could anyone disguised only in a tuxedo get past the Congressman's body guards _and _the surveillance systems _I _designed for this thing. Man, all I can say is that whoever this guy is he's good. There ain't no one I know of who could pull ninja shit like that. Not on my watch! No one other than—"

"Wait," Beast Boy's eyes grew large like a doe's, "you don't think that—"

"Robin?" Starfire finished his sentence for him, her eyes becoming moist.

---

"Raven!" Robin screamed, shooting upright in bed. Suddenly, as if the name had flipped a switch on, Dick finally realized what the name meant and why he was always calling it out. He awoke with tears streaming down his face and the lucid memory of Raven being shot playing in his mind over and over again.

**Chapter 27: Scars**

_Splick!_ _Splick!_

The Ravager collapsed immediately after the blade was removed from his chest. He wheezed heavily, his body growing cold as his blood spilled out graciously onto the roof. It was odd. That evening on top of Titan Tower the setting sun was warm and the breeze was hot. Yet Grant couldn't shake the frigid chill constricting around his very core.

Covered in thick scarlet, Robin just stood over the dying man, watching the man's wide blue eyes stare back up at him. The longer he stood there gripping his bloodied Birdarang sword, looking, the deeper his scowl became.

The hot wind blew Dick's hair into his narrow eyes as he spoke with a clenched jaw, "Stay the hell away from my friends."

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With a small gasp Grant's eyes snapped open, his hand subconsciously clutching at his chest; his heart pounding. Blinking several times, he sat up to find himself alone and still on the floor of the marbled bathroom.

Coming out of the haze of the sad nightmare, a smile crept across his face. The bathroom was completely spotless and everything had been cleaned and put back in its place. For some reason, the idea of the younger man scurrying about the room quietly to fulfill his innate compulsion for order and neatness tickled Grant inside.

"Where is that kid, now, anyways?" Grant thought as he cracked his back and inspected himself in the mirror. His smile widened when he spotted a moist face towel on the edge of the sink. It was tinged a light pink. Strange warmth washed over him at the thought of the young man's delicate fingertips running the moist cloth over his skin.

"So you even cleaned me up as I slept, huh, kid?" Grant mused to himself, the tenacious smile still gripping his face.

After he undressed and stepped into the shower Grant's heart skipped a beat. A thin film of steam lined the glass door and one of the bathrobes was missing. The warmth in his chest suddenly jumped in temperature and rose to his cheeks at the very idea that the Dick actually took a shower while he was in the same room.

"Don't be silly…stop smiling like an idiot! You're not supposed to feel this way about him…," the blonde lightly slapped himself on the cheek as if that would push the tantalizing thoughts out of his head, "The kid was just being obsessive compulsive and to get your damn blood off of himself. Besides you were unconscious."

Nevertheless Grant couldn't explain the strange yet soothing sensation welling up inside. The harder he tried to push it away, the more it grew. Come to think of it, it had actually been growing for a long time now.

"Sorry, kid," he closed his eyes and smirked to himself as the hot water ran down his body, "can't get you out of my head. You just make me too damn happy."

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"Attention…incoming call," the Titan Tower supercomputer voiced calmly while the same words blinked across the screen.

"Uh…helloooo!" Beast Boy's voice echoed from the bathroom after the message repeated a third time, "Is someone gonna get that?"

"Why don't you pick it up your damn self?" Cyborg sighed heavily entering the main room, "Lazy ass…"

"I'm on the can!" Though the door was closed, Vic could picture Beast Boy waving his arms around wildly, "speaking of which who the heck didn't refill the roll? You don't do that to a guy! Especially when he's going number 2!"

"Hush, friend Beast Boy," Starfire filed into the main with Terra in tow, "Cyborg is answering."

Cyborg's eyes widened initially when the visual display became clear, "Batman?"

"Hello, Vic," Batman kept a straight face.

"It's Cyborg. And sorry Robin…" he paused for a second, searching for the right terms, "Robin isn't here right now."

"I know," the dark cowl nodded once, "You haven't heard from him for quite some time now, am I right?"

"How did you…" Up until that moment, Cyborg had thought that he had kept Robin's disappearance and possible homicidal insanity under wraps.

"I make it my business to know," Batman said flatly, "Word has that you even suspect him in the murder of Senator Johnson at the Children's Hospital charity event last week."

Cyborg's jaw tightened at the mention of this. _How did he know?_ Unable to keep eye contact, Vic cast his gaze to the floor.

"No," Starfire objected despite Terra's grip on her shoulder, "We do not believe that at all! Robin would never--"

"Star, please," Cyborg turned slightly as he said this but kept his eyes glued to his feet. "According to the authorities," he turned back to Batman, "that was the Ravager's handy work."

"But you don't believe that do you, Vic?" Batman's voice was cold, "You think he was at least an accomplice to it and that your worst fear has come true. That one of your own has turned on you and that one day you'll have to—"

"What do you want?" Cyborg shouted, cutting the Dark Knight off abruptly.

Batman's eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth curled ever so slightly, "Last night the body of Gotham City's DA was discovered at the docks. It was made to look like the work of a local crime lord but we know better. He appears to have been killed several weeks ago and in the same fashion as your victims. Anyway, just thought I'd make a courtesy call to let you know Batgirl and I will be in your area since you seem to need some assistance in handling and stopping the murders."

"Oh and like you're _not_ personally biased?" Cyborg flung his head back up.

Batman's face darkened, "_Your_ close relationship to Dick is clouding your judgment and interfering with your duty. Bodies are piling up because you are still in shock and unable to deal with it."

Smoldering, Vic's head lowered again as Batman continued.

"I'm sorry to have said that, but you know it's true. Since you can't seem to get a grip and distance yourselves I'm calling to tell you Titans that I'm coming and that if you want to exchange case information we can. He must be stopped Vic. Do you hear me? Vic?"

"Yeah," Cyborg said a slight waiver in his voice, "I hear ya…"

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Clad in a soft, terry cloth robe Grant stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the hotel garden. Stretching, he let out a massive yawn before placing a thin, unlit cigarette in between his lips. He leaned in close to the flame of his lighter but stopped in mid motion when he caught sight of a lonely figure somberly peering up at him.

"Dick…" Grant's mind whispered, "why do you look at me so sadly?"

After an incredibly still moment Robin cast his gaze to the ground almost like a part of him had just realized where his eyes had wandered. In deep contemplation he paused briefly before continuing his stroll through the garden.

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The atrium garden of the Regal Hotel was actually on the roof above the swimming pool and offered a stunning sight of the city, spread out like a sparkling blanket, below. However, deep within the beautiful garden the perfectly trimmed foliage was so lush and dense that in the pale moonlight, one would swear he was in an endless orchard.

Lost in his thoughts, Dick slipped his hands into his pockets and pulled the bathrobe closer to himself as he made his way through a grove of blossoming cherry trees. So wrapped in thought was he, that he barely had enough time to catch the small stick flying for his head like a long dart.

No sooner did he pluck it from the air when Grant leapt out of the shadows and confronted him with a heavy string of kicks and jabs. Leaning from side to side and bending back, Robin smoothly dodged each attempt against his body.

A smile began to tug at the corner of Dick's lips as he began to counter each of Grant's attacks with a swat or poke of the very stick that was originally thrown at him.

"Not fair," the bathrobe clad assassin giggled narrowly evading a swat in exchange for a poke in the gut, "you're using a weapon and I'm unarmed!" His voice fluctuated unevenly at the end from the agile poke.

"Like hell you are," Robin grinned and attempted to kick the Ravager, "You seem to have healed from those gushing wounds rather quickly."

"It's the fast acting Xynothium derivative you injected me with. It increases healing rate among other physical attributes. But trust me, by now the effects of it have worn off."

"Yeah right!" Dick swung the stick at the Ravager again.

Ducking, Grant managed to catch Dick's ankle with the sweep of his left foot. Just as he lost his balance, Robin hooked his foot around Grant's, pulling the older man down after him.

When they came to a stop, Dick's eyes widened and he nearly swallowed his tongue. He was pinned underneath Grant with his back flat against the earth. Grant was so near that the cool scent of the man's after shave lingered in his nose. The trees rustled in the midnight wind sending flurries of pink petals down around them and throughout the grove.

Save for the rouge that had risen to his cheeks, the initial shocked expression on Grant's face was quickly covered by his usual playful smirk.

With a hint of unwillingness, Grant got up. "You know you shouldn't be out here alone," he said extending his open palm, "And without any shoes."

"Why?" Robin dusted himself off and rose without taking the hand offered to him, "You think he'll find me? Or you think I can't take care of myself?" He ended the sentence with a serious tone and began to walk a few steps ahead of the Ravager.

Grant's smile melted away. "I didn't mean it like that," he kicked a small twig with his sandaled foot, "Just wondering why you're out here, I guess," he said refraining from his real urge to ask him why he appeared so sad and unhappy.

"Heh," Robin let out a small morbid chuckle. Perhaps it was part of his body's natural way of coping with darkness. However, slowly, the fake smile slid from his face. He lowered his head as he walked on and maintained the distance between them.

A few times during their walk Grant would attempt to touch Dick's shoulder in effort to perhaps comfort the younger man. Yet always he would think better of it and retract his finger tips prior to making contact. The only way he could be of any help to Dick without distancing him further was if Dick let him.

Not a word passed between the two as they eventually made their way back towards the hotel until…

_Snap!_

"Ouch."

Halfway back, a twig splintered under Robin's bare foot drawing a small spurt of blood. Quickly removing the wood from the arch of his foot, Dick tried to continue ahead of Grant with a slight limp.

Sighing almost as if he were in relief, Grant caught up with Dick and swept him up off the ground.

"Ravager!" Dick protested, "What are you doing? You don't have to."

"It's alright," Grant gave into a slight smile as he continued to carry Dick, "I'm getting used to it."

Dick blushed and immediately lowered his head as if to hide behind his dark bangs.

"I'm dreaming of her again," Dick said after awhile, "I keep seeing this girl, Raven, shot over and over again in my head and whenever I close my eyes...just like you and your memories, I guess."

Surprised, Grant glanced down at the young man as if he could not believe his ears. "If Dick is remembering the Titans," Grant's mind moved quickly, "then there is still hope to reverse whatever Slade has done to him."

"So you remember the Teen Titans, then?" Grant asked.

"Not exactly," Robin kept his head down as he spoke, his dark hair concealing his eyes.

Grant's heart sank.

"I just…have these lingering feelings about them," Dick squinted as if that would bring clarity to the thoughts, "…like I've seen them only in passing. I mean…I know they're supposed to be important to me but…right now I feel…nothing. Nothing at all. Were we close? Was I a part of them?"

"Yes," Grant said gently, "you were their fearless leader."

Dick furrowed his brow, "Why can't I remember? If they were so important why were they so easy to forget?"

"It's a side effect of the Xynothium Slade forced on you," Grant half lied, choosing not to elaborate further on his father's hand in wiping the Titans from his memory.

Dick squeezed his eyes shut and covered them with his hand, "All I remember is that girl's brains spattering everywhere…her blood…all over me… her dying voice calling to me. God, it won't stop," the back of Dick's eyes began to sting as he slowly started to shake his head, "I couldn't save her…I couldn't save her, Ravager. That's the only thing I'm certain of."

Grant's eyes saddened further as he brought the younger man in closer against his body as if he wished to bear Robin's pain for him.

"Really what good am I?" The tears rolled off Dick's chin, "I'm supposed to be a hero. I'm supposed to stop bad things from happening. But everyone I ever cared about I couldn't save. My parents…Barbara…and now this girl…they've all been stripped from me. _Right _ in front of me. I've always had to watch them suffer or die. And no matter what I do…one way or another…I lose them…" He buried his head into the Ravager's chest and sobbed, his shoulders shaking hard, "I lose them…"

"Kid..." was all Grant could say as he stepped onto the elevator. It wasn't until they had reached their floor and were nearly to their room that he spoke up again. "I wish I could take all your grief and pain away but," he fixed his eyes onto the carpet in front of him, "would you cut it out already?"

"What?" Dick glanced up at the Ravager, his eyes still streaming with tears.

"All those times," Grant kept his eyes distantly focused as he spoke, "there was _nothing_ you could have done to stop those bad things from happening."

"That's easy for you to say," Dick snapped as they entered their room, "You're a cold hearted killer!"

A hurt look washed over Grant's face. Seeing this as the older man pulled back after setting him on the bed, Dick immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, I..." he said to the back of Grant's head as he walked towards the bathroom to fetch the first aid kit, "What I meant was that at least you know who you are. You may be an assassin but you're good at what you do and you have purpose. Unlike me, you still have your soul. I…I don't know who I am or why I exist anymore."

"Heh," Grant smiled tenderly as he fished out a canister of healing ointment from the kit. "Don't be silly," he said, gently massaging the medicinal balm into Dick's wound, "I sold my soul years ago. So I know what a soulless bastard looks like. Trust me, you're not one. You definitely still have it. And you know exactly who you are. You're Dick Grayson."

"Ravager…"

"You may wish you could have done something in the past to save you from your pain now. But the truth is that you weren't the same person then. You didn't know what you know now and there was no way you could have done anything different," Grant trailed off when he looked up and their eyes met for a moment.

"You can't keep blaming yourself," he said turning back to Robin's foot, "I know it's hard, but you have to try to trust that those decisions you made in the past were the best you could have made at the time," he applied gentle pressure with his fingertips, rubbing along the cut with a circular motion. Though cool at first, the balm became warm as it started to take effect. "If you give doubt or fear even the smallest chance, they will swallow you whole. And once you lose sight of yourself…of what you are…your soul is gone before you remember you even had one."

He paused. Then as if he were snapping out of a zone, he set Dick's foot down for a moment to look through the first aid kit for something else.

"So," Grant continued as he unwound a short length of gauze, "even though your former self may seem like a stranger to you now, just remember that you're Dick Grayson. You're Dick Grayson now as you were before and will always be. And when you're all better and healed," he wound the gauze evenly around the foot, "you _will_ be Robin again; Robin with an unmoving sense of justice; Robin who is trusted with the duty to protect to and to stop bad things from happening to the good. And when you're healed," he smoothed out the ripples in the gauze around Dick's foot, running his thumb up and down the arch, "You're going to have to stop evil killers like me." He closed his eyes.

"Ravager…"

"It doesn't matter," he went on with his eyes still shut, "It doesn't matter how many times I save your life or how many times I mend your feet," his thumb continued to caress the bandages, "As Robin…you _have_ to stop people like me. _That _is what you were made for and you're damn good at it. Never forget that."

"Grant…" the tears in Dick's eyes overflowed again. Grant was right but he hated the thought that one day he'd have to take the Ravager down.

"But," Grant's hand stopped moving as he looked up into Dick's eyes again. They were starting tear as well, "don't think about that right now. Just focus on getting better, alright? For now, while you're healing, you're only Dick Grayson."

Dick blinked, pushing the fat tears down his face, yet he couldn't move his gaze from man at the end of the bed.

"There," Grant said finally, breaking the silence that had settled across the room. He placed a small metal clasp on the end of the gauze and fixed it in place, "Good as new. The balm I applied is an ancient Chinese remedy and you should be on your feet in no time." He snuck a quick glance at Dick as he pretended to inspect his patchwork.

Still immensely emotional, Dick just blinked at Grant who with some hesitance started to get up from the bed. For some reason the tears just wouldn't stop rolling down Dick's cheeks.

"Ah, I almost forgot," Grant sat back down again and smirked, "One last thing to make it all better." Lifting Dick's foot, he swiftly placed a light, chaste kiss on its arch.

Dick's eyes widened, his breathe leaving him indefinitely.

Grant turned his head to the side and lowered it as if he were ashamed. Yet, he didn't move from the foot of the bed. After a while, Dick would catch the blonde's deep blue eyes timidly and surreptitiously looking at him.

Slowly, Dick moved to the end of the bed and peered up at Grant. Despite his tears, he grinned softly. Timidly and quickly he pressed his lips against Grant's as if to return the gesture. However, when he pulled back, Grant's mouth immediately followed him, rapidly closing the gap in between them once more. Bringing his hands up, he held Dick's smooth visage in between his palms as he kissed the young man over and over again, tasting him deeply.

"Mmmm," Dick made a small pleasurable noise in his throat.

When they finally came up for air they were both gasping.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that," Grant rested forehead against Dick's, his eyes concentrating on the soft mouth panting so very close to his.

"Try me," Dick whispered breathless.

At this, the blonde smiled then dipped his head drinking from the young man's pink lips, again.

"Mmmm," Dick pushed Ravager away a bit when he backed against the headboard, "this is wrong."

Hearing this, Grant looked as if he were about to cry himself. "I'm sorry," he said finally, "I thought that…I shouldn't have…" he let go of the young man and began to rise.

"No," gripping the collar of Grant's bathrobe, Dick pulled him back down. "It's wrong how badly I want you."

Grant's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat. His blue eyes grew larger as his mouth suddenly went dry. After a short pause he pushed Dick down flat against the bed and kissed him passionately. Stroking the young man's cheek with his fingers he gazed into Dick's eyes for a moment as if to confirm the young man's wish. Gently he licked the salty streams of tears still falling down Dick's face. He then gently kissed each of the young man's eye lids before proceeding to the nape of his neck.

"Call me Grant," he whispered in between kisses, "'Ravager' is much too harsh a name for your lips…Say my name…" He pushed his bathrobe off.

"Unnhhh," Dick only moaned, his eyelids fluttering to a half open position. He had never felt anything like the sensations he felt now. It was as if until that moment when Grant had touched him, he had been living his entire life with dead nerves. Now they were all awakening at once as Grant's hands, warmed by an extra application of the herbal balm, slowly descended down his body. They lingered for a moment, sensually caressing his firm stomach as Grant placed his hot mouth over Dick's nipple, massaging it with his tongue.

"Ah!" Dick clutched the Ravager's muscular back for a second when Grant began to suck his nipple with a slight force. Though a bit painful, the tingling sensation strangely made Dick long for more. He flung his arms around the golden head at his chest and ran his fingers through Grant's hair as the man teased the quivering muscles of Robin's inner thigh with his fingertips.

"Unhh," he let out another noise when Grant tugged on the erect flesh between his legs.

Grant moved his mouth to the other nipple as his hand continued to work up and down the member in his grasp with rhythmic force and increasing pressure.

"Oh G--," Dick's small shout was cut short when Grant lightly pinched and teased the tip of his vulnerable flesh that had become slick. "Uhhhh!" Dick let out another pleasure noise as Grant inserted one, then slowly, as he worked it back and forth, two fingers of his other balm coated hand into the young man.

Dick's lips trembled and struggled to form breathless words as his muscles flexed and relaxed against the Ravager's firm and regular motions. Instinctively, he spread his legs further apart.

Pushing Dick's legs back, Grant removed his fingers from the open man under him. He leaned in and kissed the young man long and hard before roughly pulling Robin's phallus to the side, working the end with his thumb.

Dick shouted, tears reforming in his eyes when Grant pushed into him. Grant's name ran endlessly from his lips. He arched his delicate back and threw his chin up to the ceiling, his hands clutching and twisting fistfuls of the sheets. With each firm thrust, the deeper and harder Dick wished for Grant to reach into him.

"G---" Dick bit his lip as his heart quickened along with their pace . Slowly the balm began to take effect and grew soothingly warm in between them. A fine sweat began to coat their laboring bodies.

Suddenly, like an explosion, Dick felt Grant hit a spot up deep within him once, twice, then continuously. "Oh Grant!" Eyes dilated, Dick let out a winded gasp when he climaxed and came, "D-Don't stop…Grant…"

Grant let out a small grunt as his release came shortly after Dick's. As if not wishing to succumb to his exhaustion, Grant applied a couple more half thrusts before relaxing himself.

Tiredly, he kissed the panting young man beneath him on the cheek and collapsed next to him.

Bringing Dick close, Grant gently stroked Dick's head, running his fingers through his dark hair. Eventually Dick turned and buried his head into Grant's warm chest. Slowly, a smile crept onto his face. He heard the Ravager's heart pounding so incredibly fast.

"Grant?" Dick finally said as he began to drift off to sleep.

"Yes?" Though Grant whispered, his voice hummed against Dick's ear.

"I think I can sleep now…"

"Me too…" Robin heard the man say before sleep completely overtook him.

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"So the Bats are coming to town, are they?" Back at the Wilson estate, Slade crossed his arms and smiled at the supercomputer screen.

"Yes, sir," Terra whispered into her video communicator, "They just got off the phone with him."

"Excellent. All is falling into place just as planned," Slade picked up his sniper rifle and rested it on his massive shoulder, "Everything is set for Addie's return. So now, at long last, it is the time to bring my precious bird back home." He cocked his gun.

**Additional Author's notes:** Well Happy Turkey Day everyone! Hope you liked my very first lemon! Let me know what you think and if you have any pointers on how I can write these things better ;) !

P.S. OMG only 4 chapters left! Stay tuned!


	30. Chapter 28: Apart Part 1

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes:** Hey guys! Sorry for the uber long wait! I had a bunch of stuff planned for this chapter and had to get the flow just right. Work was also getting in the way and stopped me from writing for a month! So here's a two-part chapter as a reward for waiting so long. Anyways, Happy Christmas and New Year's and all that stuff I missed…

**Refresher recap: **So since it's been awhile here is a brief overview of what has happened since the Ravager saved Dick from a near rape by Slade. Grant runs to the Regal Hotel for sanctuary, which is owned by his friend, Scott Kyle. In effort to restore Dick's wiped memory of the Titans and reverse the effect of Slade's Xynothium treatment, the Ravager returns to the Wilson Estate looking for a cure. However, he is confronted by Slade and Terra and is prevented from leaving. It is at this time that Slade confesses his ultimate plan—to bring back his dead wife Adeline Kane (Addie) through Dick by exposing Dick to Xynothium derived from his wife's blood. Grant also learns that the HIVE has been heavily involved in supplying Slade with the Xynothium and the means to resurrect Addie. However, it becomes clear that Slade's crazy romantic reasons are much different from the HIVE's apocalyptic reasons. Slade believes he can trick and cheat the HIVE to help him bring Addie back but then plans to use her to dominate the city with him instead. Slade then rants on how there is no way to reverse the process and though in horror at learning all this, Grant manages to escape.

Returning to the hotel empty handed, Grant is fraught with the dilemma of whether or not he should tell Dick what he had learned from Slade. Eventually, Grant decides to put this off until Dick is well enough to leave on his own. Still troubling is that while talking about his own scarred past, Grant notices that Dick is recalling more and more of his mother's memories and sayings.

The next night Grant finds Dick strolling the hotel's atrium garden, depressed and emotional. After a playful joust, Dick admits he's having flashbacks of the night Raven died. Though he can't fully remember the Titans or any of his feelings for them, he expresses an extreme guilt for not being able to save Raven or anyone else in his life for that matter. Grant of course tries to console Dick and tells him not to blame himself. One thing then leads to another and the two have hawt sex after which they both fall asleep in each other's arms (collective "awww…").

In other happenings, Batman and Batgirl are coming to Jump to "aid" the rest of the Titans in their search for Robin who they think is at least an accomplice to the Ravager's ambassador murders.

And here we are….Enjoy the chapter!

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_(Previously from Ch. 23)_

_(Grant to Dick) _"Dick, this is my good friend, Scott Kyle. He's Children's Hospital's largest benefactor, owns one of Jump City's major casinos, and a five-star hotel on the waterfront. Scott, this is Dick Grayson…"

---

"…What's kinda weird is nobody ever heard of him until this year. In fact some people call him the 'dark horse' because it's like he came out of absolutely nowhere!"

"Really?" Dick glanced over at Grant on the other side of the tent just in time to see a grave look wash over his face as Scott gripped his shoulder and spoke into his ear.

"You didn't know?"

"No," Dick said as he noticed Scott move slightly, slipping a small, white envelope into Grant's dress coat pocket, "not at all."

Scott then smiled and gave Grant a light, playful slap on the cheek before he walked away. Strangely, Grant did nothing to return the smile or silly gesture and, actually, seemed saddened by it. After the dark haired man had left him, Grant stood unmoving for a moment, his deep blue eyes glued to the floor. _What exactly had Scott told him? What had he put in his pocket?_

**Chapter 28: Apart—Part One**

_(The next morning…)_

When Dick opened his eyes the light peeking through the curtains was already a golden yellow, suggesting it near midday. Still wrapped warmly in Grant's arms, Dick snuggled further down into the sheets. Just as he began to drift back to sleep a light _ping_ reached his ears. After a moment, the mystery sound came again…then again…then once more…until after a while, Dick couldn't stand it anymore.

"Grant?" Dick whispered.

"Hmm?" Grant hummed tiredly, raising one eyelid half open.

"What is that beeping sound?"

"Hmm," he hummed again, but this time pensively and, perhaps, with a hint of worry, "He's back in town…"

"Who?" Dick lifted his head and pushed back from Grant a bit.

"Don't worry about it," The Ravager closed his eyes and nestled his head back into his pillow as if to put off whatever was bothering him, "Just go back to sleep."

"I can't! The sound…if I knew what it was then it wouldn't be driving me up the wall."

The Ravager paused like he was weighing something in his mind. "It's one of my targets," he said after a while, "I've planted a tracking device on him. It's disguised as a common object, like a pin or a ring that he wears all the time. Periodically the device sends out a signal and depending on how far he is away from that receiver over there on the desk the receiver beeps at varying intervals. The closer he is, the more frequent the sound until it's constant. I haven't been ordered to kill him yet so I'm just tracking his motions for now. It's actually quite a handy technique and I use it for practically all my jobs now."

"I see…so why are you suddenly telling me all this? Isn't the mission 'top secret?'" Dick said as if sarcasm alone could make him forget how much blood was on the hands now softly caressing him. _How he wished that the day he would have to take Grant down would never come._

"Heh," Grant smiled and brought the young man in closer, "because you're not completely healed yet. Don't you remember? You're just Dick Grayson right now." He kissed Dick's forehead before closing his eyes again, "You're my captive."

Suddenly, the phone rang. Dick kept his eyes closed as he listened to Grant pick it up after several rings. It was almost as if Grant didn't want to pick it up.

"Hello?" Grant said quietly yet firmly, "I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong number. There is no Alice here." He gently laid the phone back into its cradle.

After a while of not hearing or feeling any movement from the other side of the bed, Dick knew something was amiss.

Grant sat motionless on the edge of the mattress and stared gravely at the pattern on the carpet.

"That wasn't a wrong number, was it, Grant?" Dick spoke to the ceiling, "It was a code. You have to kill your target now, don't you?"

The Ravager bit his lip and glanced over his shoulder at the observant young man. "Go back to sleep, Dick," he said flatly. Turning back around, Grant remained stationary, his eyes still glued to the floor. He waited until he thought Dick was asleep before leaving.

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"_Stay the hell away from my friends."_

Robin's scowl and hateful voice were the last things the Ravager could remember before he bled out that night; the night he was supposed to die.

But then after what seemed like forever in darkness, a quiet voice came to him.

"Come," it whispered, "come…I need you…"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Grant rubbed his heavy eyes. It was so dark that he wasn't sure they were even open. However after awhile, his eyes began to adjust and he could barely make out a silhouette standing in front of him. It was in the shape of—

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_(2 weeks later…)_

Grant started at the initially cold water that shot out of the showerhead. Pressing his palms against the tiled wall in front of him, he bowed his head and closed his eyes, letting the hot water wash over the aches of his body and the blood from his skin.

The kill was rough that night but most of the blood wasn't his, so he wasn't too concerned about his health. Yet, out of habit he turned the hot water knob another half turn open as if the scalding heat could burn away the stains he swore were still on his hands.

He shuttered as the man's painfully contorted face was still burned into his mind. What was more frightening was that this target, this man _looked_ like Dick. Though the man was considerably older, he looked like what Grant would imagine Dick would look like if he were to grow old with him.

It was crazy! Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him. Maybe Dick was on his mind because he was crazy about the young man. Or maybe it was because Dick's wounds were almost completely healed and he knew he wouldn't be able to confine Dick to the room much longer. Dick would want to be Robin again. It was a part of who he was. That and sooner or later either the HIVE would start asking about Dick or Slade would find them. He couldn't hide Dick forever.

If the HIVE or Slade got a hold of Dick, they'd certainly resurrect his mother and everything would end. She wouldn't just stop at the meta-humans, no, she would raze everything. He knew this because every night, Grant would awaken to Dick tossing and turning; fighting something in a continuous nightmare; shouting more words unique to his mother; words that entailed insanity, suffering, and death. It was getting worse too and Grant was at a complete loss of what else to do.

"_Stay the hell away!" _A sneer echoed in his mind.

When Grant snapped his eyes open his eyes again the water swirling down the drain was running clear now and his left hand was fingering the thick scar on his chest. No matter what he did, all his thoughts seemed to come back to it. _Everything_ reminded him of the day he got it. _Everything _reminded him of Robin.

"It's odd," he thought as he stopped running his finger over it and covered it with his palm. His heart beat steadily beneath it, "so small but I just can't forget you."

"_Stay the hell away from my friends!"_ Robin's hate filled words reverberated in his head again as the thought of his recent kill flickered across his memory.

The Ravager squeezed his eyes shut and turned the hot water up one more notch.

-----------------------------------------

The bedroom was still dark when Grant reentered it. It was nearly dawn and only a dim gray light was seeping in between the cracks of the thick, satin curtains. As quietly as possible, he poured himself a generous glass of whiskey and, in one swift motion, threw the amber alcohol to the back of his throat. Grimacing at the burn, he poured himself another.

"Oh, you're back," Robin turned over and blinked sleepily.

"That's funny," Grant smirked slightly at the drink in his hand before downing it, "I wasn't aware that I had left."

"Liar," Robin said. Was that a playful or serious retort? In the dark, Grant couldn't tell.

"You don't think I hear you get up at night but I do," Dick spoke to the ceiling, "You think I'm sleeping but I hear you put on that mask and I hear you leave. Then a little while later, I hear you come back and everything else you do after." He paused, his eyes saddening at the tinkling sound of the whiskey bottle against the rim of the glass cup yet again, "What's going on, Grant? We both know what you do for the HIVE. So what are you hiding from me?"

A stiff silence settled across the room which was only interrupted by a large gulping sound as Grant took another shot.

"I'm sorry," Grant finally said. He poured more whiskey into his glass, "I didn't mean to wake you." He swallowed the drink.

"Grant…" Dick closed his eyes and bit his lip, 'Just come to bed. We both know the alcohol isn't going to make the pain go away."

After another long pause, Dick heard Grant quietly walk over and lie down next to him. He lay there, on top of the covers, motionless and blinked at the ceiling with glassy eyes as the violent thoughts of the kill tortured his brain. _God, why wouldn't they stop twisting in his head!_

Slowly, feeling their way in the dark, Dick's timid fingertips crept over to Grant's strong jaw. Caressing Grant's face from behind, Dick felt his fingers trace over a sad frown and a confused brow. Gently he pulled himself in closer and planted a tender kiss on the back of Grant's neck in effort to melt away the tense grimace. Though Grant didn't respond to his touch, Dick continued to work his way down Grant's firm body, his fingers gradually outlining its irregular scars. Dick felt Grant tense up slightly as his brushed over the rough scar over Grant's heart.

"These scars, "Dick whispered, "I gave these to you? Was it that night I was in the Red X suit and almost killed you?"

"No," Grant said after an extended silence, "Those are old scars. With the Xynothium doses I heal faster now so I don't get them anymore."

"Yeah?" Dick's fingers lingered on the thick scar on Grant's chest, "Then why does this one feel so familiar?"

Grant clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut.

-----------------------------------------

_(1 year ago…on top of Titan Tower…)_

"I'm disappointed," gripping Raven's neck, the Ravager lifted her limp body off the ground, "is that all the fight you had to offer, daughter of Trigon, apprentice of Azar?" He kept his eyes downcast and hidden in shadow as a smug smile spread across his face.

This was almost too easy. All the Titans except their leader, who hadn't shown up yet, had walked right into his trap. Now they were inches from death and at his complete mercy. Yet, he was not quite ready to finish them off for he was having too much fun!

The smile on his face grew wider as the young telepath only groaned in response to his questions.

"Put her down," Robin's icy voice came from behind the Ravager.

Grant smiled further, flashing his teeth, "There you are." He dropped the girl on top of the other unconscious Titans at his feet. "My my," he said darkly, almost gently as he turned to face Robin, "aren't you a pretty one? Heh, you're taller than I pictured you."

"Shut up," Dick grit his teeth, "How dare you come into my house and hurt what is mine!" He yelled, overflowing with rage as he charged the Ravager with his Bo staff.

_Clangggg! _Their weapons rang and resonated as they struck against each other. "Don't worry," The Ravager laughed coolly as he locked his katana with Dick's staff and pushed him back, "You'll be with them soon."

Dick's nostrils flared and his scowl deepened. Breaking away from the lock Dick the harshest moves he could muster at the assassin. Though he only struck the man every so often, each hit pushed him to swing harder.

_Clink! Chinggggg!_ Suddenly, after hitting the Ravager's blade, the Bo staff split in two! Dick's eyes widened for an instant as he blocked the Ravager's overhead counterattack with the half of the staff he still had.

"Good," the Ravager smiled wolfishly as he placed more pressure on his sword and pushed Robin to the ground. Dick's hands began to shake as he prayed that the metal rod in his hands wouldn't give way. "Very good, Robin. Hate me! Your hate and rage only makes me stronger," the Ravager chuckled again, "Unlike you. Who will suffer and die because of mine!"

"Ahhhhhhh!" Dick screamed. Finding new strength, Robin somehow pushed the Ravager off of him. The Ravager stumbled back a few steps. Jumping to his feet Robin threw the half staff to the ground and quickly put his birdarangs together to form a sword. Wasting no time, he charged the assassin again.

_Ching! Ping! Shurrrk…. _The Ravager had blocked the first two attacks only to miss the third. The blood ran hot over Dick's hands as it spilled out onto the rooftop. Grant's blue eyes grew wider as Robin drove the blade deeper into his chest.

"Stay the hell away from my f--"

-----------------------------------------

_(Present time…)_

A small gasp escaped Grant's lungs as Dick kissed him, bringing him out of his flashback. He kissed the young man back, hard as if pleasure could make him forget his sins and how he got the scar that Dick's fingertips were so fascinated with.

"I feel like I've given you that scar and I want to know how I did. Why won't you tell me?" Robin whispered into his ear, pressing his check against Grant's.

"You really want to know?" Grant whispered back, his voice saddening.

"Yes. I want to know everything about you."

After a long pause, Grant spoke, "The HIVE once ordered me to kill the Teen Titans…the only family that still cared about you…"

Dick's eyes began to widen as shards of memories tried to force their way to the surface of his brain.

"I almost succeeded too," the Ravager continued, "but then you came along and took my heart…tore it right out of my chest with a sword…I died that night. Or I thought I did."

Hearing this, water began to collect behind Dick's eyes. Though faded, the fragment of a memory was starting to come together.

"But, Dick, I want you to know something," Grant began to stroke Dick's hair as he continued to whisper into Dick's ear, "It was for the better. Because if you left it with me I probably would have sold it along with my soul. So it's the only thing I haven't traded away…it's the last thing I have left. I…Dick, I want you to keep it--"

The ring of the telephone cut Grant off.

"Don't," Robin pressed his forehead against the Ravager's, "Let it go."

After the third ring, Grant began to move, "I'm sorry," he said before reaching over for the phone.

"No you're not," slowly Dick shrank back to the other side of the bed, "The HIVE owns you."

**Additional Author's notes: **I know…I know this portion of the chapter was quite boring and slightly repetitive. (I'm not that pleased with it myself) BUT the 2nd half/next chapter is much more exciting, trust me! Or at least I hope it is…


	31. Chapter 28 Apart Part 2

Chapter 28: Apart—Part Two

**Chapter 28: Apart—Part Two **

_(3 days later…in the hotel garden…)_

"What do you want?" Grant narrowed his eyes at the dark haired man smoking coyly in front of him.

The man smiled smugly, "Come now, you already know that."

"I won't let you take him," the Ravager scowled.

"Heh," the man chuckled as he came in close to Grant. He stuck a thin, unlit cigarette in between Grant's lips, "You speak as if you have a choice." With that, the man lit the cigarette. Snapping his steel lighter closed, he gave Grant a playful slap on the cheek. "We've made him what he is now so he rightfully belongs to us, Grant. _Just like you_." He left his hand on Grant's jaw, cupping it as he continued, "Besides, you've been doing such a good job on your missions and I'd _hate_ for you to suddenly fall out of our favor."

Grant dropped his gaze to the ground and looked away.

"But that's not why I called you down here," the dark haired man puffed his cigarette while stroking Grant's cheek with his other hand, "You did _so_ well on your last hit that I have something for you—a gift. It's in my suite."

Grant lowered his head and closed his eyes, a sad, painful expression washing over it, "You want me to come with you."

"Now that's a good boy," the man whispered in his ear before kissing him on the cheek, "but don't follow me quite yet. Come to my suite at midnight. Don't be late…and stop acting like you hate it so much. You'll like it."

--

Dick was alone again. The phone had rung and, after answering, Grant left immediately. He no longer waited until he thought Dick was sleeping before doing so. He had also stopped leaving quietly too. There was definitely something Grant wasn't telling him; something troubling that he was trying to bear alone. But what did Dick care? It wasn't like they talked much anymore anyways.

Sitting on the balcony overlooking the atrium garden, Dick sighed heavily and rested his chin on the stone wall. His hands restlessly twirled a thin envelope that had arrived last week with the morning paper. It was an invitation to a charity masquerade that Scott and Emma were throwing at the hotel that night. The invitation even contained two black, cardstock masks for prior decorating and personalization. Ironically, the plain cutouts almost looked like his Robin mask.

The masquerade had actually started about two hours ago and Dick could hear the distant chords of a quickstep waltz emanating from the large dance hall on the other side of the garden.

Dick sighed again. He didn't understand why Grant was so against the idea of them attending the event. God, he needed to get out of the room! The masquerade would have been a perfect excuse too. Besides, it would be great to see Emma again.

Suddenly Robin perked up. There was movement in the garden below and upon seeing puffs cigarette smoke rising from the figure a part of him leapt at the thought that it was Grant on his way back. Squinting, he realized that there were actually two figures smoking, but based on one of the figure's gait, Dick knew one was definitely Grant. He always seemed to walk as if some sort of hidden sorrow was on his shoulders. As for the other figure, he was obstructed by tree branches and Dick couldn't make him out.

Slowly the slight smile on Dick's face melted away as he watched the other man lean in close to Grant. Dick's jaw suddenly dropped and his eyes became wide as the other man then proceeded to kiss Grant. The invitation slipped between his paralyzed fingertips and slid a few feet across the floor.

--

Dick didn't know what had come over him, but he eventually found himself dressed in a tuxedo, wearing the dark mask that had come with the invitation, and taking shots of whiskey at the bar adjacent to the dance floor. He wasn't sure how many shots he had that night but eventually he had to push the mask up onto his forehead because his face had become so hot.

"You know with that undecorated mask you've got there, you really look like someone… hmmm…familiar…can't quite put my finger on who though…" a talking cat suddenly appeared next to Dick at the crowded bar.

Actually, it was man wearing a mask made to look like the top half of a cat's visage, but with all the alcohol in Dick's system that night it might has well have been a very verbose tomcat. Slightly perplexed Robin reached out for one of the tortoiseshell cat's fine whiskers in a motion to pluck it and confirm its existence.

"Hey, kid, no need for an aggressive unmasking. Don't you recognize me?" The man caught Dick's wrist in mid-reach, "It's me. Scott Kyle, Emma's fiancé. We met at Children's Hospital circus event?" He pushed up his half mask, revealing the rest of his face.

"Oh, I see," Dick nodded slowly, a hint of childish pouting in his voice. _If only it were a __real__ cat!_

"Anyways, I'm glad you could make it," Scott lit a cigarette, "Sadly Emma was called away on business at the last minute and couldn't join us tonight."

"That's a sch-ame," Dick slurred, "I wish Emm-mily were here. I-I know I schee wanted to see me."

"You mean you wanted to see _Emma_?" Scott furrowed his brow, "Kid, how much have you had? Are you old enough to drink?" He turned to the bartender, "Carlos, did you card him?"

"Hey," Dick gestured widely, "according to Ravvv…Grrrant I…he said I been through more than everyone and that I'm old enough to drink. I'm 19! Almost not a teen something anymore." He plucked the cigarette from Scott's lips and tried to puff it himself, but only coughed instead.

"He would say that," the dark haired man chuckled and clapped the young man on the back, "Either way, I think you've had enough, kid. Come on, I'll take you back to your room and get Greta in the kitchen to send up a nice big pot of coffee."

"Lay off. I can take care of myself," were the last words that Dick uttered before he slid off the bar stool and passed out cold on the floor.

--

"Theif…" a raspy voice hissed in the dark, "Give it back. GIVE ME BACK WHAT IS MINE!"

Robin snapped his eyes open just as a burned corpse, black with ooze and blood, reached out and began to claw at him. _What was that?!_ Dick didn't know why but he knew that it was a woman.

As his heart settled down from the nightmare, the faint, sour smell of sweat and puke reached his nose. "Shit," he thought as he fell back into bed after attempting to sit up. The room wouldn't stop spinning.

Looking around, Dick suddenly realized that he was shirtless and not in Grant's suite. The room and bed were much larger and looked as if it were a smaller portion of a larger one. He squinted at a silver framed picture on the nightstand. After a while he recognized the figures in it as Emma and Scott sitting on a yacht.

"Must be in the penthouse," Dick thought, hazy recollections coming to his mind, "guess I didn't make it all the way up without losing my dinner too...nice of Scott to give me his jacket and take my shirt to housekeeping for washing." He touched his head, again, only to find that he still had the paper mask on his forehead.

Rolling over, he pulled the blankets more tightly around himself and tried to avoid sticking himself with the gold, rose shaped pin attached to the lapel of Scott's jacket. It smelled faintly of smoke, reminding him of Grant. As his eyes fell shut again, Robin began to think that the man he had seen the garden probably wasn't Grant but someone else and that he shouldn't have overreacted like this. _What was he thinking? _He also began to wonder if Grant had come back to the blue suite yet and if he was looking for him.

"That's what I like about you, Grant. No matter what I put you through, you never complain or say anything." A dark chuckle from the next room pulled Dick away from his grogginess, "Just like old times, huh, Grant?"

Maybe Grant had been worried and looking for him after all. Convincing his body to move, Dick managed to make it to the bedroom door and flung it open.

Dick froze in the doorway, his breath leaving his lungs. Before him was Grant half naked and pinned in a vulnerable position on the floor, under Scott. Half naked himself, Scott, held the flat side of a silver katana against Grant's neck. He held Grant's wrists fast with his other hand and had placed enough pressure on the blade to cause a thin, trickle of blood to trail down the sharp edge of the sword.

Dick wanted to throw up all over again, but instead he stood there, petrified; his mouth agape and his eyes burning.

"Dick?" Grant gasped, nearly breathless himself. He tried to move his wrists out from under Scott's grip, "What are you doing here? Where's your shirt? You…he," Grant glanced at Scott, who's face Dick couldn't see from where he was standing, "He didn't touch you did he?"

Robin didn't answer and when the tears in his eyes finally overflowed he ran out of the room as fast as he could.

_Of course! Of course it was him in the garden! Why did you even think it wasn't him? He used you, again. And you gladly let him. He's throwing you away now and you're the victim again! Who would want a worthless dog like you? You can't save anyone. You can't keep anyone. What good are you to anyone?_

Dick's ears were ringing as he ran down the hall. He wasn't aware of where he was going but when he looked up he found his hands unlocking the door to the blue suite. The ringing only intensified after he slammed the door behind himself and sank to the floor. _GOD it was excruciating! Just like the sickening whine of a heart monitor going flat…_

Scott's coat slid off his shoulders. The heavy, rose shaped pin in the lapel hit the ground first and landed with a large clatter that briefly interrupted the incessant sound in his ears.

All of the sudden Dick flinched. His eyes became wider as he realized that the noise wasn't coming from inside his head, but from Grant's tracking receiver on the table.

"_I've planted a tracking device on him."_ Grant's words ran through Dick's mind, now _ "It's disguised…like a pin … he wears all the time…depending on how far he is away from that receiver…the receiver beeps…_ _closer he is, the more frequent the sound until it's constant…"_

_My God_…Grant was going to kill Scott!

Pulling himself together, Robin jumped to his feet and ran out the door, heading back towards the penthouse. As he flew down the corridor his hand subconsciously pushed the black, cardstock mask down over his eyes while his other grabbed a broom off a housekeeping cart.

Though the sight of Scott and Grant was still fresh in his mind, Dick couldn't let Grant kill Scott. NO! _Robin_ couldn't let the Ravager kill Scott! Scott may have been the man coming between them, but he was still Emma's fiancé. He was still a man with a life.

It was like Batman had said. One must put away his hate; his sorrow; his jealousy; all his emotions to remember what is right and just. Dick _had_ to stop Grant if not bring him to justice. As Robin he had no choice.

They always knew this day would come.

--

When Dick arrived at the penthouse, its double doors were closed, but unlocked. Exploding past them, Dick jumped into the room only to find that he was still too late. The Ravager was making his final violent cuts as Robin entered the room, splashing himself and even Dick with brilliant red sprays of blood. A small gasp escaped from Robin's lungs as Grant split Scott's already lifeless body to pieces with his katana. In all his years as Robin never had he witnessed such violent brutality.

"Grant…STOP," Dick managed to shout despite his shock. He stuck out the broom stick, taking an offensive stance.

The Ravager kept his back to Robin as he lowered his sword. His shoulders heaved up and down slowly as he was out of breath himself.

"Sorry, kid," Grant finally spoke. In one smooth motion he flung the crimson off his blade before sheathing it, "You weren't meant to see this. Why did you come back?"

"To stop you," Dick sad flatly trying to keep wavering sadness from entering his voice. Even with his efforts, his throat was growing tight.

"Did he touch you?" Grant asked suddenly, indicating the question had never left his mind since Dick had first run out of the room.

"No. He was all over you, so how could he?" Robin's jaw tightened, "So does this mean that all those times you left the room…it wasn't for the HIVE but to see Scott?"

"No. It wasn't like that, Dick," Grant said firmly, "I would never lie to hurt you."

"So you would still lie to me then?"

Grant looked away, bloodied locks of usually golden hair falling into his eyes. He wiped the back of his hand across his face, smearing the thick droplets away from his mouth. "I'm sorry you had to see this…" was all he mumbled.

"But that's besides the point," Robin furrowed his brow, "Fuck, Grant you didn't have to kill him! He may have deserved it. Fuck, when I saw him with you, I wanted him dead too, but that doesn't make it right!" Dick shook his head half in disgust and half in sadness, "How could you? He was Emma's fiancé, Grant. And you were going to be his best man too. He was your best friend, Grant, and you've hacked him to pieces!"

Grant shook his head and turned to face Dick, "You don't understand. He wasn't my friend, Robin. He—" The Ravager stopped talking at the sound of sirens in the street. "You called the cops?"

"Of course I did," Robin said, his face hardening slightly, "I can't just let you leave after what you've done. You're a murderer. You have to face justice now."

"No, Dick, you don't understand," Grant tried to push past the young man but to no avail. Giving up on trying to make it to the door, he backed away and frantically began running his fingertips along the edges of the windows, looking for one that would open, "I had to do this! If I didn't _they_ were going to take you!"

"What do you mean? What else is there that I need to understand?"

"Look, Dick, HIVE forces are probably on their way now too. We have to get out of here," The Ravager whipped around. He was hyperventilating now, "I can explain everything later, but, please, Dick. We have to get out of here, now."

"No," Robin shook his head vehemently trying to stop the tears from welling up behind his eyes, "No. I'm sorry. You killed Sc--"

"Scott's HIVE, Dick!" Grant spat, cutting Robin off. If he had to tell Dick the truth here and now, then here and now it was. "His real name isn't Scott Kyle, either. It's Damian Dahrk, acting leader of the HIVE," Grant swallowed hard, "the same man who's been raping me since I was a child. He may be charming at times and may have seduced your friend, but that doesn't change what he is."

Dick relaxed his stance, his eyes becoming large, once more. Outside, the police commissioner could be heard shouting on a megaphone for the Ravager to surrender.

Ignoring the authorities, Grant continued. He spoke louder so as to be heard, "He's an immortal and a meta-human, so I had to kill him this way. If I didn't, he would have taken you."

"Grant…what are you talking about? What do they want from me?"

Grant paused, trying to quickly find the right words. "Years ago, my mother, driven insane by our kidnapping and my supposed death, became the HIVE's Mistress. That is until she was killed by you and the Teen Titans. Now what I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to believe, but the HIVE and my father, Slade, want to—"

_Bang!_ The bullet came through the window and past directly through Grant's throat. Gasping for air, he fell forward, into Dick's arms. The blood spewed freely from the wound as they sank to the floor.

"NO!" Dick screamed pushing his trembling hands against the gushing wound. "Shhhh…" he said looking into Grant's crying eyes, "Don't try to talk anymore, Grant. Hang on."

At that moment, Cyborg and Starfire came crashing through one of the arched windows, followed by falcon Beast Boy.

"Hold it right, there, Robin," Vic landed and cocked his cannon before realizing the situation.

"Y-you again. Y--," a nerve pinched in Dick's head. He looked at Grant then back at Cyborg, "Y-you shot him. I thought you were the good guys…"

"Oh man," Cyborg's eyes widened, "wait, Dick, no, it's not what you thi—"

In a large shard of glass that had shattered in from the window, Dick caught the reflection of a dark cowl sneaking up on him. Robin grabbed Batman and, using his own momentum against him, flipped him over his shoulder. Kicking the broom he had dropped up into his hands, he proceeded to knock the rest of the Titans and Batgirl to the ground in a series of quick, fluid motions.

"Dick, wait!" They barely had time to get up before Robin, with Grant barely clinging to him, jumped out the window and vanished into the night.

Watching the hysteric mayhem across the street unfold through the scope of his smoking sniper rifle, Slade snickered to himself. It was a shame that the laser microphone he had couldn't pick up any sound after the window was shattered. Though silent movies did always have a certain charm.

--

_(Later that night…)_

Dick shivered as the rain pelted down on him. He pulled Grant's arm more tightly around his shoulder to keep Grant's limp body from sliding to the ground.

"I'm sorry, " Dick said shaking his head at the rain puddle beneath his feet, refusing to look up at the man who's doorstep he was standing on, "But I didn't know who else to go to. I couldn't go to the cops. I couldn't go to the Titans. So can you help us please?" Water ran profusely down his face and off his chin, "Please help us. I'll do anything you want."

After a lengthy pause, a strong hand thumbed Dick's chin and raised it.

"Anything?" Not even Slade's steel mask could hide the dark smile that spread across his face.

**Additional author's notes: **So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed it despite how much I jumped around. I have to say I'm not completely satisfied with the flow of this two part chapter, but I figured I should just get it out and stop making you guys wait. I also realized that Robin was getting a bit Terry Sue-ish so I tried to get him back to his normal, angsty glory. Not sure how well that worked tho… Let me know what you think! I love hearing from people!

**And the count down continues…3 chapters left to the end!**


	32. Chapter 29: Suffer Part 1

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes:** Here it is! I know I told some people I'd have up within the next week so heh I guess this barely made it heh. I hope this wasn't too long of a wait this time, but I had to spend a bit of time working out the events of this chapter. I want to make sure everything is in line before the ending! Still I feel like it jumps back and forth a bit so bear with me.

Hope you enjoy this chapter as it is the build up to the end. This again turned out to be a double chapter. So I hope you enjoy it! As far as preliminary plans go, the next one will be the concluding chapter and will most likely end up a 2 part chapter. The last and final chapter after it will be an epilogue.

Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------

_(Previously…from Ch. 13 &22)_

"Let me tell you a little secret, Dick," Slade hissed into Robin's ear, "At first I thought that just watching you would be enough…that if I knew everything about you…I wouldn't…want you anymore…that I could just kill you. And believe me, Robin, one day, I will kill you; I will bathe in the hotness of your blood; and gaze upon your pale, scarred corpse…that day will be mine, Robin. But not today. Because not long ago, Robin, I found that I… must have you first. I must make you better so that you are worthy of death at my hands."

---

The light was so pure and bright when Dick finally opened his eyes. _Was it dawn already? _Squinting he could make out the shape of Slade's mask. "Slade," Dick spoke softly, reaching up to touch the mask, "Darling, is that you?"

Slade's gray blue eye widened. Was that a look of shock or happiness in it? With a strong hand he gripped the young man's palm and brushed the hair out of Dick's eyes, "Addie?"

All of the sudden, as if rudely awakening from a dream, Dick flinched away from Slade's touch. He fluttered his eyes, blinking away the serene glaze that had settled on them, "Sir…master? What happened?"

**Chapter 29: Suffer—Part 1**

Grant's eyelids fluttered slightly. Someone was whistling in the dark corner of the room. _What was the song called? _It was that haunting, yet beautiful tune from his childhood. His father used to whistle it all the time. But that was a long time ago…when everyone was happy…when his brother Joseph would laugh his incredibly distinct and infections giggle; and his father would proudly place a hand on his shoulder. How he longed for such innocent happiness again.

Slowly, he awoke, opening his eyes to a yellow florescent light flickering overhead. He let out a heavy groan and tried to move, only to find that he was lashed to a metal table with thick belts.

The whistling stopped. "Excellent. You're awake." Slade stepped over to the table side. His two-toned mask glinted eerily in the sedate flashes of the yellow light, "You must excuse the restraints. While unconscious you thrashed around quite a bit and they're more for your safety than restriction." Suddenly, Slade let out a large laugh as if he had been unable to keep a straight face. "No," he said smiling to himself, "that's not it…that's not the reason why in the least…" He trailed off, chuckling.

Unsure of what to make of his father, Grant relaxed back down onto the table, "Father," his voice was raspy, "my body…you healed me? Why?" Grant's eyes became wide with confusion. _Was it so wrong of him to question any seemingly charitable action of his own father?_

"Why…because Robin asked me to," Slade's eye narrowed in a smirk. _Was Grant imagining the warmth in that smile?_ "No," he said suddenly, again, laughing softly somewhat to himself, "that's a lie too I'm afraid…" His eye became thinner as his smile turned sinister. "Let me put it this way, Grant," Gently, Slade began to unwind the bandages from around Grant's neck. "You asked me once why I, the fearsome Deathstroke, didn't just kill you myself if I wanted you gone so badly." He took Grant's jaw in his hand and turned Grant's head to the right and left to inspect the healed bullet wound on his neck. "Do you remember?"

Grant nodded slightly.

"The reason for that, son, is the same reason I saved your life. You see, Grant," suddenly, Slade jerked the gauze around Grant's neck, constricting it and pulling him in close to whisper into his ear, "I don't want you to _die_. I want you to _suffer!_ And now with your voice back," Slade's thumb began to stroke Grant's cheek wildly, "we'll all be able to hear you scream." With that he viciously buried his thumb firmly into Grant's eye socket.

Grant writhed madly against the restraints as his father pressed on. Finally, his body, overcome by the searing pain, fell limp and unconscious; the sound of his own yells still burning in his ears.

"It's like looking in a mirror," Slade kept his maniacally soft tone as he wiped the dark crimson from hand, "honestly you look more like me everyday, Grant."

-------------------------------------------

"Ravager," Dick gasped, though his mind had cried "Raven" at the same time. He pulled the sheets more tightly around his naked body, trying to calm it. Yet for the life of him, he couldn't stop shaking. "So much pain…" Robin curled tightly into a ball, "…Grant…"

Dick didn't understand. Slade had promised him that if he was good and complied with his wishes that Grant would live. In fact, just last night Slade had told him that Grant was getting better. So why was his heart crying out? Why did he get the feeling that Grant was in constant agony?

"_Don't forget, Dick, I've been inside you…we share a bond…a link…"_ A whisper entered his head.

_Who had told him that?_ A nerve began to burn in the back of Dick's brain as he struggled to hold onto the sound of the voice. _It was...from the past…it was… _"Rav--…Raven…Raven" Dick repeated to himself several times. The more and more he said it, the easier it became to think. Eventually the pain in his head melted away as a slew of random memories flooded his mind. People…strange people running, flying, laughing, fighting…together…the memories were beautiful and almost too much and too fast for Dick to take them all in!

_Bang!_ All the thoughts came to screeching halt as his mind hit the repeating recollection of Raven's blood spattering everywhere.

Robin shivered and reeled the sheets in even closer to his body. _What had he done? Why had he come back here?! _Every night he was naked and in Slade's bed because Slade had wanted it that way. He had no choice and, according to Slade, his original room was still a shambles since the night the Ravager took him away.

Thankfully, save for the casual brush and caress, Slade hadn't fully taken him yet. Perhaps in the older man's psychotic mind he was delaying the pleasure in exchange for time to savor the mounting tension and anticipation. Nevertheless, with Slade's touching becoming more and more involving, Robin had a sickening feeling that any time now Slade would give into his wolfish hunger. Dick shivered, knowing that when Slade would advance to fulfill his ravenous pleasure, he'd surely let him without a fight. At this thought he pulled himself into a tighter ball.

"Having trouble sleeping, Dick?" Slade rolled over and, from behind, enfolded the young man's slender waist in his arms, "If you are, take this." He raised his hand in front of Dick's face, revealing a familiar red pill in between his index and middle fingertips.

After a moment, Robin, slowly, almost sadly, took the scarlet capsule, flung it to the back of his throat, and swallowed hard, taking it dry.

"Good boy," Slade whispered to him, his hand methodically stroking his inner thigh.

Dick squeezed his eyes shut but after a moment opened them again. The lingering hand had stopped moving and the rate of Slade's sighs indicated he had just fallen asleep.

"_Robin…I must have you first…that day will_ _be mine…but not today…"_ Another pinch developed behind Dick's temple as Slade's past words came to his mind.

Dick forced his eyes shut again, wishing for the hurting to stop, "Ravager…where are you? I need you…I need you now…"

------------------------------------------

_(At Regal Hotel…)_

On the balcony, the morning air was fresh and the sun was warm and golden.

"Dick what's wrong? You look…panicked," Grant closed his hands around Dick's. The young man's hands were ice cold. Instinctively, the blonde began to rub them between his palms, "Did I wake you?"

"Oh uh," Robin exhaled somewhat in relief, "no, not at all. It's just…" Dick smiled at the Grant's hands as they continued to massage his, "Never mind. It's silly."

"Come on you can tell me," Grant hadn't removed his gaze from the young man since he had stepped onto the balcony, "What is it?"

"Well," Dick continued to focus intently on their hands. They were getting pleasantly warm now, "It's just that when I woke up and you weren't there I was afraid that…for a second that you...that I was alone again." He cast his eyes to the ground.

"I see," Grant nodded, "You've been alone for quite some time now haven't you? So used to isolation are you that you often find that you push away others and even seek refuge in solitude though it saddens you."

Dick lowered his head. Was he that obvious?

"I'll never leave you, Robin," he brushed the hair out of Dick's eyes, "I may have acted like a drunk bastard before but that was my attempt to keep you away. I didn't want you to get close enough to learn I was the Ravager…and yet," he smiled, "you still found me out and here we are."

"So is that why you came back to the estate after the circus? Because I found you out?"

" Yes," Grant nodded, " and I couldn't stop thinking about you," he ran is fingers through Dick's hair again eventually bringing his hand to rest on Dick's jaw, cradling it, "Well…that and…" Grant's grin widened, "you still had my flask of vodka."

"What?" Dick finally let out a giggle and pulled his hands out from in between Grant's.

Grant laughed and wrapped his arms around Robin who briefly tried to squirm away, "But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I'm here now and I'll always be right here for you…right here…"

-------------------------------------------

As he came to, Grant tried to stop his eye from naturally opening. If only he could hang onto that warm memory a little longer. God, what he would give to stay in the dream forever…to never wake again.

Though his training in the military had taught him well to endure pain, it had not prepared to withstand torture such as this. It was as if his father knew the exact points, pressures, and nerves of his body to twist to make everything excruciating. He would have pleaded for it a long time ago if his mind hadn't kept teasing him with dreams and memories of Dick's smile…Did he really think that one day he'd be able to return to that smile?

When Grant opened his eye he was met by two, strangely iridescent blue-green eyes peering down at him.

"Rose?" Grant blinked several times, "What are you doing?"

After making a final adjustment to a bandage that she had wrapped around Grant's head and over his missing eye, the young girl giggled in a manner similar to how Joseph used to laugh and ran away.

"Rose, wait!" Grant called weakly, "Come back…please…"

Except for the hum of the fluorescent lights and a distant knocking sound, eerie silence was the only thing that answered him. When the door shut behind Rose, the lights snapped off leaving Grant in the cold darkness.

"…please…"

-------------------------------------------

_(Some nights later…in the dojo style practice room…)_

Dick kept his head low as he and Slade circled each other. As per Slade's orders, they had been sparring regularly with Dick in the Red X suit. In fact it seemed like that was all he wore now. If he wasn't lying down naked next to Slade he was wearing the Red X suit, fighting.

Robin squinted, trying to read Slade's stance and movements. Trembling with anticipation he gripped his staff until his knuckles turned white.

Kill him," a cold voice entered Dick's mind, "for Grant. You can do it…with Red X it'll be easy." Robin shook his head, as if that would clear it of the stray thought. He knew better. Before, whenever he sparred with Slade, Dick always got the feeling that the veteran assassin was holding back. Perhaps in the beginning it was to nurture his growth and learning, but now it was different. Robin could put his finger on it, but sensed that Slade now acted with a certain sense of urgency. Something had changed that was causing Slade to push him more furiously and ruthlessly than before.

Suddenly, without warning, Slade came at Dick. His actions were swift and smoothly ran into one another making the combo appear as if were one fluid motion. In seconds, before Robin had time to gasp and react, he was on the ground choking for air.

"I'm disappointed, Dick," Slade scowled, holding the struggling young man to the ground with seemingly little effort, "That was an easier attack than last time. You're getting slower."

"I'm sorry," Dick coughed. It seemed like Slade was increasing pressure on his chest, "It's the suit. It's as if I'm out of sync with her or something. She's not responding to me as well as she used to."

"Don't you dare blame the suit, Dick! Stop playing games with me. You are not embracing the full power of Red X. Look at me!" Slade pulled the mask from Dick's face, "How do you expect to improve if you refuse to embrace what I have endowed you with? If you refuse to focus? You _owe_ it to me improve. I've taught you almost everything you know now. You belong to m--"

_Thwack!_ The Xynothium whip came around and cracked against Slade's back. On impact, the split mask popped off Slade's visage. Catching him off guard, Dick managed to escape Slade's pin. Quickly, with another flick of his wrist he whirled the whip around Slade several times and pulled it taught, binding the older man's arms.

"How do you like that?" For once, a smirk flickered across Dick's face as he crystallized the Xynothium, making it rock hard.

Slade closed his eye and smiled to himself, "Fast, impressive, back stabbing, and down right bastardly." He shot his stormy blue eye back open, aflame with fury. Shards of Xynothium flew out as he shattered his bindings with a quick flex of his muscles.

"No way," Dick's eyes widened. No sooner did he think this when Slade grabbed him by the jaw and slammed him into the ground, head first. A heavy iron taste flooded his mouth on impact.

"That was perfect," Slade hissed hotly into Dick's ear as he continued to tightly grip Robin's chin and jaw. Then, without notice, Slade pressed his tongue against the side of younger man's face, tasting the thick crimson running down the side of it.

Dick swallowed hard and turned away just before their lips met, though he dare not move otherwise. Not to be denied, Slade continued to ravenously nip and suck the tender skin at the nape Dick's slender neck.

Robin squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the water that had collected in them down his face. "Grant…" Dick's mind raced desperately trying to think of the Ravager's deep blue eyes, his laugh…his smell… his gentle touch…

Dick's skin tightened and stung at the raw tingling that washed over his body as the dark teacher carefully but viciously ripped the suit from it.

"Look at me, Dick," Slade held Dick's wrists fast against the floor, "Look at me and only at me." His eye gleamed as it hungrily ran over Dick's vulnerable body.

Breathing hard, Robin forced himself to look up at the man pressing down on him. "Just pretend it's Grant," Dick's mind continued to urge, "He looks enough like him. Just older…just pretend…Gra--…"

Dick let out a small yell as a cold gloved hand tugged at his sensitive flesh. Slade chuckled at the noise before he kissed the young man hard, almost brutally.

Oddly, coming out of the kiss, Slade pulled back slightly and cocked his head. A brief look of confusion flitted across it before being replaced by a dark scowl. Dick could feel bruises forming as Slade's grasp on his wrists began to tighten as more anger entered his face.

Slade's jaw tightened as he aggressively turned the young man over and forced him up on his hands on knees. The shards of crystal Xynothium cut into Robin's soft skin. How the scarlet blood on the floor did glisten when mixed with the crystal Xynothium fragments. Dick squeezed his eyes shut but for the life of him couldn't stop the tears from spilling out and pitter-pattering onto the floor boards.

However, Slade's advances suddenly stopped. Still, Robin could feel the older man's body standing behind him. "Even now, you're thinking of him aren't you?" Slade finally spoke, a dark rage building behind his deceptively soft tone, "He's done nothing for you but take advantage of you and make you weak. Yet you still call _his_ name in your sleep. Why do you still hold on to him?"

Robin's jaw trembled, searching for words. However, he could find none to fully describe his odd, yet strong attraction to Grant. _Why, indeed…_

_Wham!_ Slade slammed his fist into the floor next to Robin, grazing his cheek. "You…love him…don't you?" His fist left a small, definite crater after he retracted his hand.

"…….yes…" Dick said, barely audible.

_Wham!_ Dick closed his eyes and felt the wind of Slade's fist graze his face again as it struck the indentation by his head once more. His heart pounded mercilessly in his ears.

"So be it," Slade got up and brushed off his knuckles, "if you _must_ have him…then I will take you to him."

Dick's eyes widened. He glanced at Slade in confusion despite hearing the heavy, caustic rage dripping off of Slade's every word.

"But not tonight, Dick. Tomorrow, I will," Slade dusted off his mask and clipped it back into place. "Now get out of my sight."

**Additional author's notes: **Hope you guys liked this part of the chapter so far. Now onwards to the next half!


	33. Chapter 29: Suffer Part 2

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Chapter 29: Suffer—Part 2**

_(That same night…)_

The echoing sound of clapping broke the maddening silence.

"Congratulations, Grant," his father's smooth voice came from the foot of the metal bed. The lights flickered on, momentarily blinding the Ravager. "He really does love you."

"Dick…" Upon hearing this, a weak smile touched Grant's lips.

Slade chuckled darkly, "In a matter of days, you've basically undone years of planning, study; everything that I've done to bring Addie back." He began to undo the clasps of the thick belts that held Grant down, "Tell me, Grant, how did you do it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He's remembering everything, Grant. Thanks to you _all_ his memories are coming back! He talks in his sleep. He's saying names; shouting things that happened only during his time with the Titans; he's remembered Raven's shooting! Even the Xynothium from Addie's blood isn't enough to suppress them anymore! I suspect that he remembers more than he lets on too. The only reason why he hasn't fled or lashed out against me is because of you…_you're _still here. He wants to _save_ you."

"Ha," Grant let out a small laugh and a cough, "Is that so?"

"Apparently," Slade flicked off the last belt buckle loose to the side, "Now get up, Grant."

"Father?" Grant cautiously sat up. Upon rising Grant noticed Rose sitting in the corner of the room. Her eyes blue eyes were cloudy and distant. Her head swayed slightly as if she were in some kind of trance. A thin trickle of blood ran from a pin prick on the inside of her elbow down the length of her forearm. "Rose? What has he done to you?"

"Pay her no heed, Grant. I want you to come at me. Face me!" With that Slade swung at Grant.

Eyes wide, Grant managed to block and deflect the first attack, albeit weakly. However, he failed to be fast enough to stop any of Slade's other lightening fast moves. At the end of the combo he landed, prone and groaning on the dusty, wooden floor.

Grant's arms trembled as he tried to urge his body to get up. Before he could rise, Slade was on top of him, locking an arm around his neck and another around his right shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Grant let out a shout as Slade began to place pressure on his shoulder and stretched out his arm, pulling it back.

"So tell me," Slade spoke hotly into Grant's ear, "What did you do to him? How did you ruin my perfect Robin?"

"I didn't ruin him," Grant clenched his jaw, trying to get out of the hold without increasing the tension on his body, "He got better on his own."

"Like hell he did," Slade hissed, "Why have you forsaken the return of your mother? By stealing him from me you have made it so I could not fully take him. I've had him to myself for days now but I cannot yet push Addie to manifest herself in him! This is all because of you…you've stolen his heart from me and therefore I cannot fully bring her back. Even if I were to enter him…to cleanse his body of you…she still would not return in her full glory."

Grant began to pant. Slowly, he heard the ligaments in his shoulder begin to snap and crack. Still, the Ravager managed to smile, "You've got it backwards, Father. It is not I who has stolen his heart, but he who has taken mine."

"Heh," Slade's eye narrowed, "how touching." With a sudden jerk he pulled Grant's arm completely back, snapping it in several places. Grant howled until his lungs burned.

When his yells subsided, Slade spoke again, "But I think I've figured out a solution, Grant," he scooped up the hand of Grant's now limp arm and began to play with his fingers. "You see, I realized that I've going about this all wrong. There are two ways to erase people from existence. One way is the way I tried: erasing people from Robin's memory to replace them with other more favorable ones of your mother's. The second," Slade grinned before crushing Grant's little finger in his palm.

Grant cried out as he felt his bones grind against one another.

"The second," Slade moved on to the Ravager's ring finger, "Is the simple the way of death. At first I had shied away from this method knowing that in death, the memory of a person is immortalized and it therefore would be near impossible for me to replace any of Dick's memories. However, I see now I was completely wrong about that. I have you to thank for this realization, actually."

He bent the finger in his grasp and continued to speak despite the screams, "The night I sent him to kill you as Red X, when we thought you had died, Addie had showed herself to me. She called my name and touched my face. However, the Xynothium process with Dick was still in its early stages and Addie's grip on him was brief." Slade scowled and squeezed the next finger maliciously, "I did not think much of this at first. But now I see that the only way to make the effects on Dick permanent is to kill the Titans and you! However, it is imperative that your deaths not come at my hands but _her's_!"

Slade dropped Grant's now limp arm to the floor, "I don't know how you survived that night she almost killed you Grant, but I will make sure that you will not survive when she kills you this time." Slade walked around to stand at Grant's head. He knelt down and took his son's face in between his palms. Slade smirked, "But do not worry son. There is a way to preserve your _undying_ spirit." He drew a small dagger from his belt.

Though Grant could not will the dead weight of his body to move, his eyes widened.

"I analyzed your blood, Grant and it seems that you've been on Xynothium so long that a majority of it is practically pure Xynothium. Since you are not taking it regularly at the moment you are weak, but your blood still contains much of its adaptive properties. And wouldn't you know that Rose seems to be a perfect match for you just like how Dick was a perfect match with Addie. She will be able to take on your wonderful skills and traits. In other words," he hugged his son's head, "you can be like dear old mommy now!"

Holding Grant's head back, Slade covered his son's mouth as he drew the cool blade across his juggler vein. A muffled cry escaped from behind Slade's hand.

Seeing the arcs of crimson spill out onto the floor, Rose's cloudy eyes grew large. With great enthusiasm she leapt up out of the chair from the corner of the room and went straight for the wound in Grant's neck.

Grant gasped in pain and shock as he felt Rose's teeth against his skin. She would continually nip and bite the wound to keep the blood flooding into her mouth.

"What have you done to her?" Grant began to blink sedately as the loss of blood began to affect him.

"She told me once that she wanted to be just like her big brother, the Ravager," Slade's smile deepened, "and now she can. But don't think that you've finally attained the freedom of death, Grant. The Xynothium in you has made you strong and this no doubt will be a long, painful process. Besides, you should stick around to see your mother's magnificent return. You will die soon enough at her hands anyways." He flashed a wolfish smile, unseen behind his split mask.

-------------------------------------------

_(The next night…)_

"Yes, sir, they are doing just as you said they would," Terra tried to keep quiet while speaking on her Slade communicator in the bathroom, "No…she still lives, sir, though she is still comatose….I understand. I will do as you say right away."

"That's my girl," Slade said before switching out.

Keeping a straight face, Terra stared at herself in the mirror for a moment as if she were deep in thought. A storm seemed to be brewing inside her. She went on debating to herself like this for a while until the shouting outside the bathroom broke her out of her thoughts. It was another argument between Cyborg and Batman.

Quickly she straightened her hair and goggles before exiting the bathroom. _Showtime…_

"How could you have let this happen?" Batman scowled, "At the hotel, he was right in front of you! How could you have let him get away?"

"Me?!" Cyborg shouted back, "I wasn't the one sneaking up on him! I was explainin' myself and I almost got through to him too. That is, until you tried to get the jump on him! We could have talked him down if you had just held your god damned horses! We're not just a bunch of rag tag kids! We know what the hell we're doin'!"

"Please," Starfire's eyes were large and near tears, "Do not fight. I am afraid that this is leading us no where."

"Boys! Boys!" Barbara piped up, "The ditzy alien is right. People on floor down from the pent house said they heard some shout the name 'Slade' before we stormed the place and we need to find this guy now."

Starfire flashed Batgirl a dirty look, "Excuse me, by what do you mean by calling me 'di-zzy?'"

"Well what do you think I mean?" Batgirl shot back an equally caustic look.

"I do not appreciate your tone." Starfire's brow furrowed angrily.

"Well I don't appreciate you either. I honestly don't know why Robin did," Batgirl took a step towards her, "Especially since you weren't able to keep him around for very long!"

"Girls!" Octopus Beastboy tried to step in between the two red heads, "Girls, no! As much as I'd like to see you two go at it and mud wrestle or something you shouldn't—"

The entire situation room became over run with shouting until…

"Enough already!" Terra shouted.

All of the sudden, silence fell across the room accompanied by startled looks on everyone's faces.

"My parents fought all the time. It's why I left them. So trust me, mindless bickering won't do any good," Terra spoke slowly, "Whether Robin is an accomplice to the ambassador murders or not, he needs you all now."

"Terra…" Beast boy was the first to speak up again, "Terra's right. It's hard without Robin taking the lead but we've gotta pull together and find him."

"But how?" Vic shrugged, "We've been tryin' to find Slade since he showed up in Jump but haven't been able to locate him. Besides, if anyone would know where to start it'd be Dick and obviously that's the problem."

"I—" Terra started to speak but was cut off by Starfire who said the very words she was about to say.

"I know where Slade is," Kory kept her head down, hiding her serious gaze behind illustrious red locks, "The night Robin left, he had mentioned something about a clock tower."

-------------------------------------------

"Where are we going?" Clad in the Red X suit, Robin gazed out at the city whizzing by as the car traveled towards the center of the city.

"You know perfectly well where we are going." Slade kept his gaze towards the front of the car.

"_Slade!... I've come for you! Isn't this what you want!"_

_Crack! Pah!_

"_I shall break you then!"_

The traumatic memory of that night stormy night flashed across Dick's mind.

"Tell me, Dick," Slade's dark voice tore Robin away from the flashback, "How much do you remember? Everything?"

"I," Dick paused, unsure how to answer without angering Slade further, "I don't know."

"Liar," Slade continued to speak to the back of Wintergreen's head, "I'm bringing you to Grant so at least give me the courtesy of being honest, Robin."

Dick's jaw tightened, before answering, "Yes."

"When? When did they come back?"

"Not too long ago."

"Hmpf. I knew it," Slade smiled softly to himself, "No doubt you remember your hate for me then. And you're questioning yourself why you came back to me?"

Dick exhaled, his nostrils flaring slightly, finally showing his hatred. If Slade already knew, there was no use in pretending anymore. "Yes," he whispered.

"Well the answer to that is simple, my dear Robin," Slade said as the car came to a stop, "This is destiny." Stepping out of the car he extended his open palm to Robin.

"You call this destiny?" Dick ignored it as he exited the vehicle.

"I did this all for you, Robin," Slade lead the young man into the clock tower after telling Wintergreen to wait in the car, "Forming the Akaishuen automatons; leaving you cryptic clues," Slade chuckled, "It was done all so that you would find me and so that I could make you…better."

"Oh really? And how does your fucked up mind justify shooting Raven?" The wooden steps groaned underfoot as they walked downwards towards the basement. Of the tower.

"Heh, she was but a mere catalyst. You did find me fairly quickly right afterwards didn't you?"

Dick's eyes became large briefly before narrowing again. Slade was right. Was he really that predictable?

"Besides, she was holding you back, Dick; her and her so-called 'link' to you. She had to be out of the picture if I was to get through to you."

"Don't you see, Dick?" Slade stopped just short of the final door and turned to look at the young man, "I had to do this to unlock your true potential. Raven, the Titans, and even Grant are all holding you back. If you wish to attain true power, you _must_ let them go! You must let them die!" His voice echoed throughout the belfry of the tower.

"Never," Dick growled.

"Heh, so be it," Slade turned back to the door, "But mark my words, Dick, you _will_ see things my way. It is only a matter of time."

Instead of unlocking the thick pad lock of the wooden door in front of them, Slade turned towards center of the tower. Pushing a specific series of bricks in the wall, he revealed a hidden door in the wall that lead to another set of stairs leading further down.

"Your precious Ravager is located in the room just beyond these steps."

-------------------------------------------

_(Outside the clock tower…)_

"We're pretty clear on this side except for a car parked outside the back entrance with some old dude in the driver's seat," Falcon Beast Boy perched on Cyborg's shoulder.

Vic clicked on his radio while he zoomed his optical eye on the clock tower, "We have one car idling over here with an unidentified male on the North face of the tower. It's probably Slade's ride. Other than that we're clear. How are we on the other sides?"

"All clear." "Clear." "We are clear." Everyone responded quickly.

"Good," Cyborg squinted, "Thermo vision is pickin' up a bunch of heat up top so they're either there or somewhere below ground where I can't scan."

"Batgirl and I will take the top of the tower while the rest of you search any rooms below ground." Batman's firm tone carried over the radio.

"Sounds good," Cyborg replied, "Looks like this mission is a go. We go on my mark then…5….4…"

-------------------------------------------

_(Meanwhile…)_

Dick's eyes became large at the sight before him. Rust colored blood smears coated nearly every inch of the metal paneling of the small room. Grant's body lay still and slumped over against the center pillar. Hunched over on all fours, young Rose lapped the blood running thick down her brother's arm and fingertips. Blood had stained her platinum locks a bright red.

"Rose!" Slade scolded, "You've made such a mess!"

Perking up, the young girl jumped up and ran over to her father, taking his arm. "Go, dear" he said almost lovingly, "Wintergreen is waiting for you upstairs. He'll take you home."

Nodding obediently, Rose turned and ran up the stairs.

"My god, what have you done to him!" Dick pulled off the Red X mask and fell to his knees. He reached out towards Grant, "You promised me that you'd heal him!"

"I did heal him," Slade kept his soft tone, "But then I grew bored. And you know what they say about the devil and idle hands…"

Grant flinched, scared, at Dick's touch, showing that he was still alive. "Shh…Shh, Grant. It's me, Dick. We're getting out of here ok?"

"Dick…" Grant managed to speak and shook his head slightly, "No…you go…"

"What?"

"Smart man," Slade smirked, "He knows he doesn't have much time left and …hahaha… he wants you to save yourself."

"No! No!" Robin put his hands around Grant's face, "I won't leave you. Damn you Slade!"

"But isn't this what you wanted, Dick?" Slade continued to stand in the open doorway.

"What are you talking about? Of course not!"

"But you knew this would happen, Dick. Mad Mod and I may have taken your memories but what we couldn't remove was your instincts. Deep down inside you knew that this is my nature. You _knew_ that this is what would I do and yet…you didn't go to the Titans…you didn't go to Batman…nor even the police. You came _back _to _me_. So how can you say that this isn't destiny, Dick? _You chose this._ It's fate that we be together!"

"No…no. You're twisting things! I didn't mean for this to happen! I didn't know!"

"Oh yes you did know," Slade continued on despite Robin's frantic rationalizing, "All along didn't you want the Ravager dead? Didn't you want to bring him to justice? To make him pay for all his sins? As Robin isn't that _your duty_?"

"No! No! Stop! It isn't true…IT ISN'T TRUE!" Dick twisted the Red X mask in his crimson coated hands, wringing it tightly.

"Dick," blood oozed out the corner of Grant's mouth as he spoke, "go…get out…"

"Just put him out of his misery, Dick," Slade said firmly, stepping up close behind Dick, "Stop his suffering and let him go!"

"No. No, I can't!" Who was Dick responding to?

"You must, Dick!"

"Dick…go…"

"I can't! I can't! I CAN'T! NO!" Dick covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

"3…2…" Outside, Cyborg continued to count down.

_Kill them all._ A voice suddenly urged in the back of Dick's mind. _You have the power of Red X!_

_No…I can't…_

Having forced Robin into the mental state he wanted him in, Slade suddenly grabbed Dick by the collar and backed him up against the center structural pillar of the room. With a sudden flick of his wrist, he extended a retractable spear and drove it directly into the "x" of the Red X suit, pinning Dick to the pillar.

A shocked and painful expression filled Dick's face as he choked on the blood that streamed out of his mouth. "Why?" Dick's eyes said.

Even Grant perked up. His eye became wide.

"Shhhh…" Slade caressed the young man's trembling face before kissing him. He then pulled the Red X mask over Dick's head, like a shroud.

Grant's eye widened when Slade pulled out another retractable spear from his belt. His father smiled and winked at him.

"1…0," Cyborg counted, "…Titans…Go!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Grant screamed as Slade drove the final spear into the "x" on Dick's head.

------------------------------------------

**Additional author's notes:** To be continued…bwhahahaha! Though I hope the ending wasn't too confusing…couldn't get it exactly right no matter how many times I poked at it. may try to spruce up later...

Thank you, everyone, so much for sticking with the fic this far. We've come a long way from chapter 1 and I'm glad people are enjoying it (or at least I hope you guys are). Let me know what you think of if you have any suggestions coz I love hearing from you guys! Also let me know if you see that I've skipped over words in sentences because I tend to do that when I get excited…**Squeee….only 2 more chapters left!**

P. S. To the anonymous reviewer Lightwalker: Not to put you on the spot but I didn't have an e-mail to respond back to your comment but I still wanted to thank you for your comment and let you know that I'm glad that you're enjoying the fic. I hope I didn't keep you or the other readers waiting too long for this chapter. I appreciate the comment and like I tell everyone (coz it's true) comments really keep me going and pumped to write. Thank you!


	34. Chapter 30: Home Part 1

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes: **And so starts the beginning of the chilling end for this fic. While this a two part chapter I will be releasing the 2nd part at a later date as I will be working on it to make sure everything is taken care of.

(sniff sniff) I'm actually getting kinda sad that we're coming up to the ending chapters. Thanks again to everyone for reading and sticking with the story. I hope the next few ending chapters will live up to the rest of the fic and won't disappoint.

Anyways, Read. Enjoy! And review, if you can.

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_(Previously in Ch. 10, 12, 18, 22, and the last chapter, respectively…)_

"She's still comatose." Cyborg leaned against the heat register by the window, "and…she actually isn't getting any better. I don't know if she's getting any worse either. It's weird, usually Raven heals faster than most because of her abilities. You'd expect at least some progress.

"The docs sent her home the day before you left, only because _they_ think she should…die where she's most comfortable. Though they didn't know how much longer she has," Cyborg sighed, "Look, Robin, the others don't know about this, yet. In fact I told them the exact opposite. I guess I didn't want to believe it myself, either. But now you know the truth."

---

"This is from me and Raven," she opened the small box and pulled out a think intricate silver necklace with a ring looped on it, "Please accept this humble gift. I made the necklace myself using my star bolts and many many wares of silver. The ring is Raven's and she came to me in a dream to remove it from her finger and give it to you. You see on Tamaran we place great value in dreams…" Kory trailed off as she placed it around Dick's neck.

---

_(Ravager to Dick)_ "The Red X doesn't belong to you! I know that for a fact! I know its name because I knew the owner…the owner of that suit is dead!"

_Addie!_ The name rang out in Dick's mind causing him to hesitate.

---

The light was so pure and bright when Dick finally opened his eyes. _Was it dawn already? _Squinting he could make out the shape of Slade's mask. "Slade," Dick spoke softly, reaching up to touch the mask, "Darling, is that you?"

Slade's gray blue eye widened. Was that a look of shock or happiness in it? With a strong hand he gripped the young man's palm and brushed the hair out of Dick's eyes, "Addie?"

---

"1…0," Cyborg counted, "…Titans…Go!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Grant screamed as Slade drove the final spear into the "x" on Dick's head.

**Chapter 30: Home—Part 1**

Instantly, Robin's body went limp. His blood streamed in thick ribbons down the pillar, collecting in a dark puddle beneath his body

"Dick…" Grant gasped breathless, tears flowing down his face.

The crescent smile widened across Slade's face.

Suddenly, everything went black.

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"Who are you?" Dick shouted out into the darkness towards a withered figure standing just beyond his field of vision, "Can you help me leave this place?"

The figure lowered its head suggesting it was smiling, "Thief…this is mine. You are mine now!"

Dick gasped frantically for air as he felt his body fill with an icy coldness. Then without warning, the fabric of the Red X suit constricted around him, squeezing every inch of him as it began to force itself into every opening of his body.

Thrashing about, he clawed at his face and chest madly as if that would somehow remove the suit from his burning flesh.

At the same time, his head began to pound. His most painful memories were playing and replaying over and over again in a rapid pace. His parents' bloody death, Raven's shooting, losing Barbara….everything that was ever his fault. It was excruciating! It was so much that it felt almost as if his skull would burst open any second.

He tried to scream, but only found that this allowed the suit to painfully penetrate him more quickly! God! It was like he was being pulled apart! Piece by piece..._Raven!_ Where was she?

"_Raven isn't coming this time, dear little Robin…Slade's taken care of that little bird…but don't worry…you won't feel a thing…"_

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_(Back in the secret room…)_

Slowly, an eerie crimson shadow, radiating out from the pool underneath Dick's body, spread cross the floor. Increasing in rate as it went, the scarlet darkness quickly crept up the walls of the room and eventually covered everything in sickening hues of red.

"Father…what have you done?" Grant whispered his eye widening again at the sight of Dick's hand that began to twitch once more.

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_(Outside…)_

"Oh my God," Cyborg stopped running towards the clock tower. Its white stone exterior had suddenly turned a dark scarlet. As fast as lightning and with a sonic boom of a hundred times that of thunder a solitary pillar of crimson shot out from the top of the tower. It enveloped the moon directly above, blotting it out and bathing everything in a deep, blood red light. Vic's eyes became large.

Getting over his initial shock, he clicked on his radio, "Batman, Batgirl, stop heading towards the top of the tower. They're in the basement."

"Are you certain?" Batman's voice fizzled over the radio.

"Yes," Cyborg began to run again, "Me and the others have seen this before… it was a year or so ago, when we raided the HIVE. Raven called it a 'Lazarus' ritual… she said that for it to work you have to be below ground…where bodies lay to rest…"

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"Roahhhhh…" a multi-harmonic moan came out from behind the blood stained skull mask as the once lifeless body wrenched the spear pinning its head free with one hand. Immediately the wound made by the spear filled in and closed. Still clutching onto the first spear, the Red X clad body lowered its head and began to jerk the second out of its chest using its other clawed hand. Once free, Dick's body slid down the wall and landed in a stance low to the ground, still holding the spears.

Grant's mouth fell open, petrified in horror, "Robin?" _No…something was wrong...this wasn't Dick…_

"Welcome home, Addie," Slade grinned tenderly as the final wound on its chest disappeared as well, "Come now, darling, say something. Let us hear your sweet voice."

The body looked up at Slade but didn't respond. Instead, it suddenly jerked its head to the side as if it heard something. Growling lowly, it rose to its feet.

"Ah, you hear them coming don't you, Addie?" Slade stepped to the side, away from the doorway, "Don't you see? I've brought them to you. Just for you. Make them suffer!"

As if on cue, the secret door flung open, a dark shadow running in. With a flick of the wrist, the once lifeless corpse flung the spear towards the door without lifting its head or even turning to face the doorway.

"Ah!" A man cried out. The force of the spear knocked him hard to the ground, fixing him to it. His head lolled back in forth as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Batman!" Barbara screamed. She jumped in through the doorway, narrowly dodging the second spear flying towards her. Instead, it caught her cape and pinned her against the wall.

Having no time to detach her cape, she grit her teeth and gave it a firm tug. _Boom! _A split second before the Red X suit buried its fist into her head the cape ripped, allowing her to slide out of the way. The brick above her shattered on impact.

Looking down at her, the eyes under the skull mask narrowed angrily.

Quickly Batgirl leapt up into a battle ready stance, dual batarangs drawn. "Dick? Is that you under there?"

"Ha," the body let out what sounded like a distorted chuckle before charging her, a Xynothium rendered battle axe forming in its hand.

_Whiff! Chink!_ Batgirl ducked barely dodged the sweeping swing of the axe and, crossing the batarangs in her hands, locked it in between them above her head.

"Dick, listen to me," she pleaded as Red X backed her up against the wall, "I know you're in there! Don't do this! Don't—"

Suddenly the Xynothium axe liquefied and wrapped around her weapons and hands. Red X threw his fists across her jaw several times before taking her wrists in his hands again. Raising her up off the ground, he pulled her wrists apart, spreading her arms out wide.

Her face was so close to the Red X mask that she could feel its hot, sour breath against her cheek. "I—Iua I," it struggled to form words "I'll ne-ver ff-forgive yooo."

Barbara let out a tearful scream as Red X tightened its grip and sank its claws into her while pulling her arms further and further apart.

The room began to shake as the dark, red shadows began to deepen in color and pulsate. Eventually the vibrations could be felt throughout the tower.

In the corner, Slade's smile grew as Red X unfurled his massive, red wings while continuing to pull at Barbara's body.

"Dick, no!" Grant shouted weakly, trying to move his heavy limbs, "Don't!"

Barbara's wide eyes at the bottom of the stairs were the last thing that Vic and the other Titans saw before the stone door suddenly shut, cutting them off from Batman and Batgirl.

"No!" Cyborg and Starfire pounded against the door forming large craters in it. When it didn't budge Cyborg turned to the earthmover standing to his left, "Damn, the stone is too thick. Terra, get this out of our way!"

She shook her head vehemently, "I'm sorry. I can't."

"Please, Terra! You gonna have to try! If you don't they're both going to die."

"No no, I meant _I can't!_ I won't! If I open it everyone dies," Terra shouted, "Don't you see, Slade is going to—"

Barbara's second scream was loud enough it could be heard even from the other side of the secret passage.

"Terra," Cyborg glanced back the young girl, "Please!"

"Fine," frustrated, Terra looked away, "Stand back."

Immediately after the door came down, thick, razor ribbons of Xynothium whipped out of the swirling dust, entangling the Titans. Pulling taut, the ribbons reeled them down quickly into the basement.

Though Xynothium seemed to originate from a puddle underneath Red X's feet, they increased in tension, cutting into the struggling Titans, as he continued to pull at Barbara's limbs. _Body part. Body part…they all had to go!_

All at once, the heroes began to scream and writhe in pain as the razor ribbons began to cut slowly into them. As if feeding off the blood curdling yells, the room began to shake more violently.

_The cries…together…such torture…such horror…such sadness… they were just so beautiful all at once. _This was it! At long last, the unbearable noise that Robin had so vigorously sought for his entire life was finally all that he could hear now._ It deserved to go on forever…_

"Dick!" Fighting the weakness of his steadily deteriorating body, Grant continued though his tearful pleas fell on deaf ears, "Dick! No! Let it go! I know she hurt you! They all did…and I know it's unbearable! But you have to let it go! You can't let it consume you! Addie will win if you let it! Fight her! Dick! Look at me! I don't want to lose you! I can't lose you! DICK!" Grant shouted the young man's name endlessly but to no avail.

Dick's scowl only deepened. The memories of misery and heartbreak were now overrunning his mind. _"Watch closely, Robin." BANG! "Leave the Robin suit." "I always end up doing everything for you anyways." "Honey…Robin…I lov—" Splat! "Dick, what have you done?" "Oh, Bruce!" _It was almost too much for him to handle.

"Louder," a voice pushed in Dick's head, "the screams have to be louder! Make the thoughts go away. Make the hurting stop. Blot them all out!"

"DICK!" Grant's voice was distant.

Robin could hear Barbra's joints begin to pop despite the growing sound of the burning yells. As he continued, trickles of liquid began to stream out of the eye holes of the skull mask. Were they tears?

"Robin…" a soft, familiar whisper echoed throughout the room.

All of the sudden, darkness flickered once across the room turning the Red X wings a solid obsidian black.

"No…it can't be…" Slade gasped recognizing the power, "Terra…you didn't--"

After a second flicker everything went dark. Silence and stillness settled across the room.

The next thing that Dick knew, warm, radiant arms wrapped around him from behind. One of the soft hands cradled his jaw, running its smooth thumb over his lips. "Shhh…it's alright. I have you," a gentle voice tickled his ear, "You can let go now…I have you…my darling."

In a burst of feathers, the Red X wings disappeared. Dick felt the warmth return to his body. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found that he was no longer holding Barbra's wrists. Instead his hand was tightly gripping the ring suspended from the silver necklace he wore. _All this time, since Star had given it to him, he had been wearing it…_

"Raven," Dick murmured. Suddenly becoming weak, he collapsed to the ground. Dark, glossy feathers swirled down around him as eyes fell, firmly shut.

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_(A few nights later…)_

"Attention…incoming call," the Titan Tower supercomputer's calming voice looped several times before Cyborg answered. As always with the phones, not a second after he had picked up Beast Boy and Starfire had run into the room thinking to answer it themselves. Seeing that he was too late, Beast Boy plopped onto the couch. Starfire sat herself neatly down next to him.

"Batgirl," Vic smiled slightly as the video screen came in focus, "How are you guys?"

"Still healing but glad to be home," Barbara chuckled sadly, "The spear that hit Batman fortunately didn't hit any major organs, but grazed his spine. He'll be bedridden for a while and under heavy sedation. But the doc says he'll be alright. Either way, we'll both be out of commission for a while."

"I see," Cyborg nodded.

"How about you guys? Still hard at work?"

"Hey now. We're still lickin' our wounds too," he shook his head, "Still we haven't been able to find Slade nor the Ravager. Or at least I'm assuming that the other man in the room was the Ravager. Anyways, after the lights came on again they were both gone. Blood patterns exiting the room suggest the Ravager was dragged out against his will," Cyborg scratched the back of his head, "Honestly, we don't know what to make of this all. Not really sure what had happened or what was happening."

"But at least we have recovered Robin," Starfire piped up, "We have finally brought him home."

"Hmmm," was the only sound Batgirl made. After a lengthy pause she spoke up again, "How is he?"

To this, everyone's faces saddened a little.

"He hasn't woken up yet has he?"

Starfire made a sad noise in her throat.

Cyborg shook his head, "It's like he's in a perpetual nightmare. I mean the first night we got back from the clock tower he seemed fine, albeit unconscious. However, since then, he's gotten worse. We haven't had to restrain him yet, but…"

"We haven't been able to get him out of that funky suit either," Beast Boy chimed in, "We got the mask off but the rest is like stuck to him."

"I don't know what else to do," Cyborg looked up again, "Guess all we can do is wait. Hopefully when he does wake, _if_ he wakes, he can clear some things up."

"So what do you make of that flicker of darkness that saved us all?" Barbra quickly changed the subject after an awkward silence, "I could have sworn I heard whispering during it. Next thing I know we're all on the ground and you guys weren't tangled up anymore. I've never seen anything like it."

Slowly a smile spread across Vic's face. He closed his eyes, "That? Y'all gonna think I'm crazy but didn't that affect seem familiar to you guys?"

Silence…then—

"Wait, you don't mean—" Beast Boy gasped.

"Raven?" Starfire perked up and finished Beast Boy's sentence.

"But how?" Batgirl asked, "She's in a coma."

"That's just it," Vic continued to smile, "I think even still she's watchin' over us; lookin' out for us…our little guardian demon girl…"

Cyborg opened his eyes, a serious look replacing his smug grin. "Look," he said staring off distantly, "I have a confession to make. It's about Raven. You see I've been lyin' to you guys. She hasn't been getting better…"

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_(Meanwhile in the infirmary…)_

Robin gasped and shot up in bed, "Raven!" Sweat poured down the sides of his face. Hyperventilating, Dick glanced over at Raven's bed on the other side of the room as if he had been worried about her all the time he had asleep. She lay still as ever, her respirator and heart monitor beeping and clicking regularly. "So I'm back at the Tower now," he let out a sigh, "Hmmm…nothing's changed since I left."

Though, Raven's hair was so long now Actually he kind of liked her with long hair. Dick didn't know what it was, but the moonlight seeping into the room hit her locks just right to highlight them. For once in a long time, Dick smiled. _Home sweet home._

When Robin tried to bring his hands up to rub his eyes, he found that they were bound to the bed by rough, sandy chains with large links. "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry," Terra's voice carried from across the room. She stepped out of the shadows and stood by Raven's bed, "But those sandstone chains are for our own good."

"The fuck you talking about?" Dick grit his teeth remembering the night Terra had flat lined Raven with poison. His heart quickened as Terra backed up closer and closer to Raven's bed. Slowly, the increasing sound of a whining heart monitor began to build in the back of his mind. "Don't take another step, Terra. Get away from her!"

"I can't do that," Terra stood her ground in between him and Raven, "not while you're here."

"_You're_ the one that should be in chains," Dick lurched against his stone bindings, the high pitched noise in his head getting louder, "The others may not know the truth about you, but I do. Now, as I was saying, get away from Raven. Don't you dare touch her! I swear if you do, I'll--"

"You should be one to talk. _ I _know what _you_ are. And I know that I'm not the monster here." Terra took one more step back towards Raven's beside.

"I said, get away from her!" With a firm twist and to Terra's amazement, Dick shattered the sand stone bindings around his wrists. Before she had time to blink Robin had her by the neck and pressed up against the wall.

"Don't you get it?" Terra's brow furrowed, "She's still in you, Dick! The thing that nearly killed us all!"

"_Us?_" Dick laughed darkly, "Getting too caught up in your pretend role that Slade had you play huh? Don't kid yourself, You're not a Titan. I am," His hands began to tremble with rage, "and I won't let you hurt my friends…my family… I won't let you kill them."

"No, Dick," Terra coughed as his grip around her throat was tight, "you've got it all wrong. I'm not the one who's here to kill them…….you are…"

Robin's eyes, though angry, widened, "No. You're lying. You're just trying to save yourself." The high-pitched whining in his ears had reached a maximum volume.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid Terra, the traitorous wretch that she is, is telling the truth," at the sound of Slade's voice directly behind him Dick jumped, dropping the girl from his clutches. Before he knew it, Slade's hands were on him and pushing him flat against the wall. Eyes wide, he stared directly into the stormy blue eye of the split mask.

Aflame with a frightening cold, rage, the eye narrowed, smirking smugly at him, "Now, my dear Robin, where were we?"

**Additional author's notes: **Sorry for the horrible non-suspenseful cliff hanger at the end of this portion of the chapter. It was a lot more exciting in my head before I wrote it down… Either way, I'd love to hear what you guys thought! I actually was trying to tie/pull together a lot things from previous chapters and I'm not sure how well that worked so any suggestions and/or comments would be priceless!

Anyways, I promise or at least I hope the 2nd half of the chapter will be a bit more exciting. It actually kinda makes me sad and nervous coz it will be the final chapter of the fic before the epilogue (tear drop).


	35. Chapter 30: Home Part 2

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

**Author's notes: **And now after an uber long wait…the final chapter. Please note that Joseph and Rose are canon characters.

Enjoy and please review…or at least let me know what you thought of the overall fic. Any suggestions or improvements or constructive criticism is also welcomed.

Anyways, you knew the end was coming but did you think it'd end like this?

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_(Previously in Ch. 25, 29, & 30-Part 1…)_

Maddy had only laughed hysterically, shaking in Ravager's grasps, "Oh memory is a funny thing, me duckie. Ya see you gotta get rid of somethin' to make room for somethin' else."

"What the hell is he making room for, Maddy?" The Ravager growled hotly, "What the fuck is Slade up to and how do I reverse whatever that bastard made you do to Robin!"

"Reverse? HA! You can't stop it, Govnah. Once it's begun you can't stop it. Hahahahahaha. Not unless you know how to turn back bloody time…not unless you can put everything back to the way it was before….HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The old man continued to laugh even after Grant had left the hospital room.

---

When Grant opened his eye he was met by two, strangely iridescent blue-green eyes peering down at him.

"Rose?" Grant blinked several times, "What are you doing?"

After making a final adjustment to a bandage that she had wrapped around Grant's head and over his missing eye, the young girl giggled in a manner similar to how Joseph used to laugh and ran away.

"Rose, wait!"

---

"No, Dick," Terra coughed as his grip around her throat was tight, "you've got it all wrong. I'm not the one who's here to kill them…….you are…"

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid Terra, the traitorous wretch that she is, is telling the truth," at the sound of Slade's voice directly behind him Dick jumped, dropping the girl from his clutches. Before he knew it, Slade's hands were on him and pushing him flat against the wall. Eyes wide, he stared directly into the stormy blue eye of the split mask.

Aflame with a frightening cold, rage, the eye narrowed, smirking smugly at him, "Now, my dear Robin, where were we?"

**Chapter 30: Home—Part 2**

Slade leaned into the young man, applying slight pressure against Dick's crotch with his knee. He chuckled darkly at the small yelp that escaped out of Robin. "Shhh…we mustn't let the others hear you, yet."

"You…" Dick trailed off, his eyes trembling. Oh how he wished he could look away from the two toned mask staring him in the face.

"Yes. Honestly, how could you think you that you could ever be rid of me," Slade whispered back, "You belong to me, remember?"

"And as for you," holding Dick's neck with one hand, Slade turned to kick Terra who had been surreptitiously trying to drag herself towards the panic button at Raven's bedside. She slammed flat against the ground. "You treacherous whore," he continued to ram his foot into her body, "Have you forgotten how I found you? You swore allegiance to me! And yet after that and all that I've done for you, you still chose to disobey! You still chose to believe that the Titans care about you more?" He threw his heel across her face, "If you had followed through with your orders and took care of Raven, I would have had my Addie back by now!" Terra's body finally went limp after a final kick to her abdomen, "But if you wish to join the Titans so badly then so be it. I will do this myself and you can share their beautiful demise."

He turned back to Robin futilely struggling against his grip around his neck, unable to shout because of it. _Like that fateful night on the roof with Raven…_

"I'm afraid I let you down, Dick. I've let everyone down; Rose; Joseph; my wife…," he took the young man over to the bed opposite Raven and threw him onto the mattress. Seemingly without effort, he held Robin's hands and feet fast and lashed him down with thin wire from his belt, "I should have done this myself a long time ago. I suppose the reason I didn't do this sooner was that a part of me was hoping that fate would fix itself. But it can't and I can't seem to shake this…fascination with you." He wound a final loop of wire around Dick's neck and cupped Dick's jaw, the heel of his palm covering his mouth. "Quite frankly," he continued holding Dick's mouth shut, "it's on the verge of becoming unhealthy and this is the only way to make things better." He ran his thumb back and forth over Dick's soft lips, "This is the only way to make you mine. Maybe then I can finally kill you and forget you. Maybe then I will be able to bless you with a death that is worthy of you…no…that is worthy of Addie."

Finally letting go of Robin, Slade walked over to Raven's still body, "Tell me. Dick, just how strong is your link to Raven?"

Before Dick could shout Slade took the tube that connected Raven to her IV drip and tore it loose. The beep of the heart monitor quickened

"Nooo! Don't touch her!" Dick screamed, thrashing uselessly against his razor bindings, "STOP!"

As if gaining momentum with each wire or tube he plucked, Slade began rip fistful after fistful of them that hooked Raven to the life support machines. All the machines wailed at once, warning of imbalance and of impending death.

"SLADE! Please!" Robin begged, his ears burning at the deafening screams of the failing life support, "What more do you want from me?"

"Come now, Robin, isn't it obvious?" Slade opened his hand releasing a mass of tubing and wire, streamed with tiny trickles of scarlet. They clattered loudly at Slade's feet in a heap

He slowly wrapped his fingers around the tube that connected Raven to the respirator, her last thread to life, "All this time it _wasn't you_ that I had wanted," he stroked the cord in between his fingertips, "My heart yearns for Addie…it never stopped. You remind me of her, Dick…your aura, the way you move, even the scent of your blood. This is why I fell for you and how I know that _your_ delicate, perfect body is the one that will bring me closer to her than ever. I know it won't last forever. I know I will have to eventually kill her myself. But no matter what, she will always have my heart. And for that?" Slade glanced over his shoulder at the struggling young man, locking eyes with him, "_I love you, Dick._" He kept Robin's gaze as he tightened his grip around the tube and viciously ripped it loose.

The respirator hissed as it lost pressure. The shrill whine of the heart monitor became ceaseless.

"NOOOOOOO!" Dick arched his spine and threw his head back, the wires slicing into his wrists. The obsidian black skin of Red X body suit began to pinch and quiver all over Dick's body. Xynothium graciously oozed out around the seam about his neck. Slowly it crept up to his chin and over his mouth. As the demonic chemical flooded his gullet, his scream became endless, reaching an inhuman volume and eventually hitting a multi harmonic cord.

_Plink!_ _Plink! _The wire restraints snapped loose in a sickening staccato rhythm.

Dick clawed feverishly at his face and throat, uselessly trying to stop the suit from consuming him.

Once his head was fully enveloped, his body jerked, snapping the scarlet Xynothium to an anomalous, solid black. With a final violent contraction, a layer of the dark Xynothium cracked and peeled back revealing the bone white skull face. He then fell limp against the hospital bed.

Just at that moment, a sonic blast blew through the infirmary door. "Titans, GO!" Vic's voice carried over the blast as the team leapt through the newly made opening.

"You're too late," Slade snickered, "Now she will make you bleed!"

"Raven! Dick!" They called. Yet before the Titans could make it to either of their friends, Dick began to scream in pain again. Whipping up, he curled his back and wrapped his arms around himself tightly, grabbing at his shoulder blades. Sickeningly, the back of the suit began to undulate. Something was trying to force its way out from under the surface of slick black suit.

Dick threw his chin up, wailing to the heavens, water streaming out of the eye holes of the mask.

_Phfff!_ In a heavy mist of crimson, two large, white, blood spattered wings burst forth from Dick's back. Even Slade's eye grew large as the blood caked feathers filled the air.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom overhead and in an instant everything was draped in a vile crimson light, richer and darker than before.

"Dick?" Someone gasped. Since his wings had manifested Robin's body had stayed frozen in place, his back curved in an arc; hands limp at his sides; and his face still upturned towards the sky.

"Dick?"

Slowly as if under a considerable amount of weight, the stark white mask twitched and turned to look at the Titans. The eyes that met them were frighteningly wide and…_unfamiliar_.

"Dick?!"

In response to the fearful gasps the shrouded head only cocked slightly to the right. Behind that stark white mask spread a dark, hedonistic smile.

The room began to quiver and shake violently. Outside, the tremors were so great, huge cracks in the earth began to form. Suddenly there was an explosion as fountains of lava sprung out of the ground, surrounding the tower in a river flow of liquid fire.

"Dick!!!"

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_(Meanwhile at the Wilson Estate…within a secret room…)_

"Mmmm," Grant moaned, his heavy eye remaining closed. A soft hand caressed the cheek of his blind side. It felt good.

When his eye finally focused on the small figure in front of him, Grant suddenly flinched. The cold wire criss crossed about his naked body dug into his flesh as he lurched away, "Rose!"

"Shhhh," she clamped her pale palm over his mouth, "Things are not as they appear, dear brother." Her other hand subconsciously gestured in sync with parts of her sentence as she spoke.

Recognizing the smooth motions of sign language, Grant's eye widened, "Jo-Joseph?"

The platinum blonde head nodded once.

"But how?" Grant gasped his eyes becoming moist, "You're mute…and bed ridden…your body is… is upstairs…"

"Yes, brother," Rose's voice was so soft, "I'm afraid we do not have enough time for me to explain everything. All that I can say is that while you were away and before father became fixated on Robin, he had been obsessed with curing my body of its current state. He tried everything: machines; drugs; surgeries; anything he could." Joseph trailed off and paused for a moment as if he were trying to remember and count every method they tried.

"I think," he finally said again, "I think because of all of that, father somehow awakened something in me…this incredible power." He looked up at Grant. Rose's eyes twinkled a strange blue-green color that Grant had noticed before. "I am free to possess anyone I wish now," Joseph whispered, "as long as I can make eye contact and as long as I will it hard enough. I can even tap into their memories…"

"My god…" was all Grant could say in response to this revelation.

A brief silence settled across the room.

"You know he did it out of love right?" Joseph spoke up again, "He put me through all of those…'treatments' because he loves me. He loves mother so much he wants to bring her back despite any repercussions. He does everything out of love for us, you know?"

"Joe," Grant said quietly yet firmly, "you think this is love?" He struggled against his wire bindings slightly and winced when they cut into him.

Rose's eyes became sad at the crimson drops that ran down the wires. She brought her smooth hand up to gently caress her brother's cheek again, "I don't know why he blames you or has forsaken you so and I'm sorry you had to suffer so much because of what happened to me and mother so long ago. You're always the one who suffers the most…" Out of habit, Joseph ran Rose's finger in a line across her throat, stroking the spot where his scar would have been on his own body.

Rose's body then turned and removed her necklace, revealing a key. Unlocking a cabinet in the corner, she produced the Ravager costume and a large automatic syringe filled with Xynothium extract.

"He's utterly mad, I know," Joseph said as he brought the things over to Grant, "So madly in love is he that he's lost himself." He uncapped the automatic needle and looked Grant in the eye, "He's at Titan Tower now, torturing that young man you love." He aimed the needle for Grant's heart, "Godspeed, brother. You are the only one who can save them both, now."

Though Grant had prepared himself for the injection, he still screamed in agony as Joseph drove the needle into him.

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"Um…not to be Captain Obvious here," Beast Boy tried to keep his balance despite the violent tremors rattling throughout the room, "but we're sinking!!"

Suddenly, the tower dropped several levels as half of the floors below gave way, collapsing into a river of lava that had since sprung up around the tower moments ago.

"Dick's bringing the entire tower down and us with it!" Cyborg shouted, "We have to get out of here!"

"Yeah," Terra retorted, "if he'll let us!"

"Somehow," Starfire said gravely, levitating off the ground, avoiding falling debris as best she could, "I do not believe that is Dick." As she said the last part her emerald eyes glowed hotly, staring down the calm Red X clad figure standing in between them and the doorway. Its head was hung low as if it were sleeping or mediating despite the surrounding chaos.

Finally, with a shout of rage, Starfire charged Red X, launching a myriad of star bolts.

"Star, no! Wait!" Cyborg shouted after her. He tried to run after her but no sooner did he take his first steps did the floor under foot buckle and burst open with plumes of orange lava. "Shit!" Vic fell to the ground, landing flat on his back some feet away from the molten rock. _They were no longer on one of the top floors anymore…_

Thinking fast, Terra crouched in a firm stance and slammed her palms flat against the quivering ground, "Ahhh!" Eyes brimming with golden light, she threw her head back. "Come on. Come on," she willed the bed rock under their feet, "Don't sink! Don't sink! DON'T SINK!"

Somehow, by miracle, perhaps, the quaking of the tower subsided slightly while their sinking rate slowed considerably.

Meanwhile, in the blink of an eye, the Red X figure dodged each and every bolt of Star's onslaught. Before she knew it, the emotionless skull mask was staring her in the face while her wrists were in its clutches. Kory's eyes widened. With a vicious twist, it shattered her forearms. Starfire screamed and continued to weep as she was swung around once and then thrown across the deteriorating room.

"Kory!" Vic called out as he and Pterodactyl Beast Boy swooped down from the sky. Effortlessly shifting out of the way of Cyborg's sonic blast, Dick's body spread its wings and leapt into the air. Meeting Vic midair, Dick tackled him to the ground.

Vic could not help but yell as Dick drove his fist into his sternum plate. He gasped at the feeling of the cold Red X claw around his human heart. Then, as if on second thought, the claw shifted slightly over until it found his mechanical spine. Grabbing hold, the monster violently ripped several metal vertebrae out of Vic's helpless body. Arcs of dark oil mixed with scarlet blood flew past his field of view as his nerves snapped and his body went limp. Vic never thought he could scream so loud.

"My God…" Slade whispered to himself as he watched Red X engage lion Beast Boy. For once the dark teacher was shocked, "She could have killed Starfire…and Cyborg…but instead, it chose to immobilize them…She wants them to suffer…What have I done?"

When the Red X claw took hold of his jaw, holding his mouth shut, Beast boy's big cat eyes widened.

_Phhfff!_ Globs of thick crimson spurted out from in between the fingers of the Red X claw as it easily snapped the lion's jaw. A small whimper escaped Beast Boy's throat before he hit the ground, unconscious.

Rendering a shining sword completely out of Xynothium, the Red X clad figure slowly approached Terra, still gritting her teeth and holding her palms firmly against the earth.

Terra's eyes grew large as Dick raised the sword above his head. She squeezed her eyes shut and looked away just as the blade began to fall towards her neck.

_Chink! Shoooon!_ The hum of steel resonating, reached the earthmover's ears.

"Are you alright?" A gentle voice spoke to her.

Slowly, Terra opened her eyes.

"Grant?!" She whispered, breathless. He was standing above her, shielding her from the Xynothium blade by forcing it back with his silver katana which he gripped in an inverted style, across his back.

Terra blushed, but then realized she had to keep concentrating to stop Titan Tower from sinking further.

"Hold on, Terra," the Ravager smiled a soft, bittersweet grin before pushing back against the Xynothium blade, "Hold on just a little longer."

Sending Red X back a couple steps, Grant whipped around to face his deepest fear. For a moment, despite the puff and explosion of sulfur and fire, the two stood motionless, breathing deeply and looking at each other. With sad eyes, Grant slowly drew a second katana.

"Dick…can you hear me?" Grant's lips barely moved as Robin began to charge, the Red X cape fluttering in the hot wind.

_Ching!_ Crossing his swords, the Ravager locked weapons with Red X.

"Are you in there? Dick?"

"…_I'm here now and I'll always be right here for you…right here…"_

Grant's hands began to shake with the tension mounting in their blades. Finally, with a heave, they pushed back from each other. However, no sooner were they apart, did their weapons find each other again. _Clang!_

"Dick…"

"_For now you're only Dick Grayson…You're my captive…"_

Fluidly leaning right, left, and bending back, Grant narrowly dodged several attacks before attempting his own. _Whiff! Whiff!_ Yet, he too found that his attacks were having difficulty connecting as well.

"It's me, Dick…Remember? Remember me?"

Their combative dance was strangely hypnotic. Though their moves were lightening fast, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. _It was almost exactly like the night they had first met…_

"_There's no way I'm letting you get the easy way out…"_

How the Ravager longed to go back to the night he first laid eyes on Dick's elegant figure against the pale moon.

"Uh!" Grant fell back slightly, dropping one of his katanas and holding his side, where the Xynothium blade had finally caught him.

"_No…no…Stay…"_ at the sight of the blood on his fingertips, the thought of Dick tenderly cradling him on the bathroom floor briefly entered his mind.

Gritting his teeth, Grant straightened up again and took a defensive stance. Raising his sword he beckoned Red X to advance.

"_Grant…I think can go to sleep now…"_

"_Me too…"_

The ribbons that tied the Ravager's cowl to his head whipped in the thermal updrafts as they exchanged more blocks and attacks.

"Unh!" Grant fell back again. Blood feel freely from a new wide gash across his heaving chest. Fatigue was setting in and the Xynothium derivative that Joseph had administered wasn't enough to heal him completely. Moreover, it was wearing off.

"_Hehehe_. _Hold still!"_ The sound of Dick's laughter reverberated in Grant's mind.

"Wake up, Dick…Wake up!" It was then that Grant realized he was now shouting the words as he was weakly struggling to fend off the rest of Robin's attacks.

Somewhere in the distance, Slade's laugh echoed, a hysteric waiver in his voice, "You're too late, Grant. The end has already begun. Even I did not think it would happen this fast. Hmpf. And I didn't even get enjoy my Addie…There's no way you can stop it now, Grant."

"_Not unless you know how to turn back bloody time,"_ Mad Mod's crazed words flickered across Grant's brain.

All of the sudden Grant's eyes widened. _That was it!_ It all became clear now. The only way to bring Dick back was to—

The Ravager suddenly found that he had reached the edge of the floor. Lava surrounded them and he could no longer back up any further.

Looking back up from his feet, Grant raised his sword and smiled gently at Dick standing several feet away. With his last ounce of strength he let out a shout as he ran at Dick, swinging his sword.

Their blades rang as they hit each other once, then twice. _Shingg!_ Then they scrapped along each other until mid attack, the Ravager opened his hand, releasing his weapon. It clattered against the ground.

Without resistance, the Xynothium sword sunk easily into Grant's chest, severing his heart. Though crimson had flooded his mouth, he continued to smile. His hand, now empty, came to rest on Dick's face, cradling his delicate jaw.

Red X's eyes grew wide as, the Ravager mask—split during the final attack—slowly fell away revealing Grant's smiling, sapphire eyes.

"_Dick…it's the last thing I have left…I want you to keep it…"_

Soon after Grant crumpled to the ground, the Red X mask fell apart as well. Somehow the Ravager had been fast enough to split it down the middle without cutting Robin's face. Dick's unbridled hair fell into his wide, tearful eyes.

"No," Dick whispered, his voice fluctuating in between his own and another multi harmonic one, "Grant…my son…my only love…what have I done? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Dick fell to his knees and wailed to the heavens.

With a deafening clap of a thousand thunders, everything suddenly became enveloped in a blinding white light.

When Robin's eyes finally focused, he was no longer in the Red X suit and was instead wearing one of Grant's white, button down shirts. Draped around Grant's shoulders was a large white robe that seemed to extend to the edges of the endless white room they were in. He stood in front of Dick, while Dick himself continued to kneel. Large, white feathers swirled around them and hung in the air. _It was like that dream he had once…_

"Don't leave me, Grant," the tears ran infinitely down Dick's face.

"I'm sorry, Dick," Grant's eyes were soft and gentle, "But just as Raven was the one keeping you from becoming Addie, I am the one keeping you from being Robin."

"That's alright. I'm fine with just being Dick Grayson. Just don't go."

"No," Grant smiled, "You can't be Dick Grayson. He died along with his parents remember? You were born that night Robin and so you are no one but Robin.

"As for me, this is the way it was supposed to be a year ago, right? On a hot night not unlike this when you had my heart in your hands? Both you and I know I'm not supposed to be alive. I died and I didn't deserve to be reborn." Grant lowered his head, "During my time with you, I was only selfishly stealing the life I lost to you. You see, Dick, my existence is the only one that is different from your past and your present. Once you let me go, you can go back to being Robin."

"But you promised that I wouldn't be alone anymore," Dick pleaded, "You promised me Grant!"

"I was always around you Dick and I will always be here for you. Just not in the same form." With his usual playful smirk across his face, Grant turned and pulled the pure white hood over his head. Slowly he began to walk away into the distance. "I'll miss you, Dick," he said quietly.

"Grant…wait," Dick called out, reaching for the tail of the white robe. But just as Grant began to turn around again, there was a flurry of white feathers and the robe collapsed. The white sheet billowed to the ground, landing flat.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Dick screamed his eyes and ears burning.

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The scream was never ending as the earth began to shake even more violently than before.

"Beast Boy!" Terra shouted; sweat beading on her brow, "Beast Boy! Are you awake? Can you still move?"

Coming to, Beast Boy jumped up and shook his head as if to make himself more conscious. Though his jaw was broken, the rest of his body was otherwise unharmed.

"Beast Boy," Terra continued to talk while straining to concentrate on the earth beneath them, "you have to grab the others and fly out of here!"

The green changeling became doe eyed at the mention of this and made a whimpering sound.

"Don't worry about me, Beast Boy. I'll be fine," Terra lied.

When Beast Boy didn't budge, Terra's voice became firm, "Look, Slade had me do a lot of things…all of which I'm not proud of. So please let me be proud of what I'm doing now." Terra grit her teeth. The tower was getting heavier, "I SAID GO!"

Although hesitant, Beast Boy finally leapt away as a Pterodactyl, holding Starfire in one claw and Cyborg in the other.

"As for you," Terra turned to look at Slade trying to escape unnoticed, her eyes aflame with a hot yellow. A jagged piece of bed rock shot up through the floor in front of Slade, stopping the assassin in his tracks. "You can share my beautiful demise," Terra growled.

At that moment, a large explosion, radiating out from where Dick was cradling Grant's body some distance away, enveloped all within a mile radius of the tower.

When the dust had finally settled and the magma had cooled a familiar voice reached Dick's ears, "Dick…"

"Dick…" it repeated, "It's alright…I'm here now…"

Opening his dirt caked eyes, Robin gasped. No longer was Grant in his arms but instead it was…

"Raven?"


	36. Epilogue: Missing

**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

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**Epilogue: Missing**

_(Several months later…)_

"Man it's good to be home!" Vic beamed with pride. They were settling into the newly rebuilt Titan Tower and he couldn't wait to test out all the technological "improvements" he had installed.

"Dude," Beast Boy dropped his box of things in front of the doorway to his open room, "why do I always get the smallest room? I mean, during construction, couldn't you have increased the dimensions or something Cyborg?"

"On Tamaran a small room signifies one who is of high intellect," Starfire peaked over droopy eared Beast Boy's shoulder, "Oh my, Beast Boy, it seems to be smaller."

"Hey hey, me and the construction crew just followed the blueprints," Cyborg shot back, playfully, "I mean, sure, I had to shave a _couple_ inches…or feet off of your room here and there so I could fit in the _new, fully loaded, super charged, surround sound Game Station X180!_" With a flourish, Vic whipped off the white sheet that had covered the coveted big screen game console.

Beast Boy's jaw dropped while his nose bled.

"Beast Boy, are you alright?" Starfire poked her petrified friend.

"It hurts to look at it directly," drool dribbled down Beast Boy's chin, "Is it worth the smaller room? I don't know…I'm so conflicted right now…"

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On the roof, the sun was warm against Dick's face. The cool ocean breeze tousled his hair as he sat down and hung his feet over the edge. After a moment of gazing at the orange sun setting in the distance, he pulled the Robin suit out from under his arm. He admired the suit in the orange light for a second. Brushing off a patch of dust that had collected on the dark ring that encircled the "R" he let out a sigh before extending his arm and holding it out over the open ocean crashing below. Slowly, he began to open his hand. The dark cape of the suit fluttered in the salty breeze.

"All settled in?" At the sound of Raven's voice Dick's heart jumped. He quickly tucked the Robin suit back under his arm.

"Hey," he smiled though for some reason it seemed a bit sad instead of happy, "look at you…back to normal already, huh? Dressed in white I see…" The thought of Grant draped in the white robe flitted across his mind.

"Yeah, since I came out of the coma I've been likin' the white," Raven said as she sat down next to Dick and swung her legs over the edge of the roof as well, "So how were your travels? Didn't see you around much while they were rebuilding the Tower."

"I'm sorry I wasn't around, Raven," Dick spoke distantly, his eyes tracing the horizon, "I had to do a bit of soul searching. Heh." He smiled fondly to himself, "Visited Superman in Metropolis first and then ended up going back to Haley's Circus for a while."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…" Dick closed his eyes, "It's not the place it used to be though. Despite all my wishing…nothing is the same anymore. It's funny." Dick opened his eyes again and stared at the crashing waves below, "of all places that should stay constant, you'd think 'home' would be one of them…"

The roll of the ocean waves was thunderous.

"Dick," Raven finally said, breaking the silence, "you know you can call this place your home, right?"

"You mean like how I used to call Wayne Manor, Gotham my home?" Dick retorted. However, as soon as the words left his mouth he felt worse than he already did. "I'm sorry, Raven, I didn't mean that. This place looks great and I'm sure Cyborg out did himself yet again. It's just…I don't know," Dick looked back out towards the open sea, "something is missing." Subconsciously his hand touched his chest.

"You know Superman told me about this one superhero on Krypton," Dick tried to change the subject, "he was an outcast and didn't have a home, but he didn't need one. Because he fought for justice so he was never forgotten. No one knew his real name but the called him 'Nightwing.'" He glanced at Raven, again, "Pretty cool name, huh?"

"Not as cool as 'Robin,'" Raven smiled gently, trying to cheer him up.

"Ha, no," Dick's shoulders shook with a painful laugh, "that's a Mama's boy's name…"

"That may be. But it's your name, Dick. The Ravager knew that and he did everything he did so that you may stay Robin."

Dick's eyes saddened. Quickly he looked away from Raven, trying to hide the tears that rose up into his eyes at the mention of Grant. "Heh," he tried to smile and scoff, "It was all a waste then. As soon as I left Gotham for good, Bruce gave my name away to some kid."

"It was never his to give."

"It doesn't matter, Raven!" He turned back to face her, "I can't be Robin anymore! Not after all that's happened. Not with this _hole _in my chest…in my life! I'm so hollow now that I can't _just be Robin_, like nothing has happened!" Dick let out another sad chuckle and turned away again, "You know I turned 20 last week…I'm not a teen anymore and I certainly don't think I can stay a Titan."

"Dick, no," finally letting go of her inhibitions, Raven reached out and turned Dick's head by the chin, so that he faced her, "This is not what I wanted for you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Raven? What are you talking about?"

The telepath lowered her head, her dark hair hiding her eyes and the rouge that had risen to her cheeks.

"Dick," she said after a short pause, "you can't stop being Robin. Not yet. You're the only one who really believes in me. We'd…I…I would fall apart without you. It's the reason why I made a deal with him."

"Him?"

"Yes, the Ravager, Grant. He was a powerful adversary and I think under different circumstances he would have been a great ally. So the night when you killed him the first time, I made a deal with him. In exchange for stopping his soul during its descent he had to protect you if I was ever compromised."

"So you're saying he cared for me only because he swore that…" Dick brought his hands up to hold Raven's face in between them. Tears streamed freely down her face.

"No, Dick, that's not exactly how it works. It is neither an oath nor a complete possession. I did not act through him. It was more of an exchange. He gave me a part of himself and I gave him a part of me. We became one, so to speak, and thus I was allowed to influence his actions and perhaps his feelings as well. Upon resurrecting he had no recollection of the deal nor was he aware of how far reaching my influence was. In fact it's hard to say whether his attraction to you was a direct result of his own emotions or an indirect result of…" Raven bit her lip, "of my own feelings."

"Raven…" was all Dick said as the sky began to grow dark. Slowly he drew her in close to his body, embracing her tightly. Below, the waves continued to break against the shore.

After a while Raven spoke up again, "So you see, Dick…you can't just—"

"Shh," Dick hushed. He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her tightly again, "Thank you, Raven…Thank you." In a matter of seconds, she had made him whole again.

Letting go of the tears mounting in his eyes Dick wept and smiled out of happiness for once. He was finally home and Grant had kept his promise after all.

End

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**Author's notes:** And there you have it. After about 1-2 years of writing and updates we've reached the conclusion of this fic. (cries)

Thanks to all those who've stuck with the fic since the beginning (even if you didn't leave any comments, lol…sorry I just had to tease).

Though, major kudos and thank you's to those who did comment and kept me going! It really meant a lot to me actually, since I must admit that this is the first, full length story (including my original fics that I try to write) that I've actually finished! So, yeah…thank you soo much!

(not to put people on the spot…but especially thanks to loopylouise123 and Rocky-White Wolf of Curses who encouraged me after practically every chapter…)

I don't know if there will be a sequel or any follow up to this fic, yet, but we'll see if the ideas come. ;). Though after an ending like that, I'm not sure if can follow it up, heh. Though if I ever got the motivation to go back and redo parts of this fic…I think I'd rewrite the lemon…it's sooo cheesy…

In other news, I am working on an X-men Cyclops X Iceman one shot, but am still working out major kinks to that one…hmmm…

Anyways, this is turning into a letter… All in all it's been great fun writing this fic. Thanks a million, again, for a great time you guys!

See you around,

--FB


	37. Follow up note

Authors Note: I've written a short follow up to "Red Robin

**Authors Note:** I've written a short follow up to "Red Robin." The first chapter is now posted under the name of "Return to Me." I've decided to go ahead with it just for fun and after some encouragement by a reader. I'm not sure if it'll be able to live up to the complexity of "Red Robin" but I was in a particularly dark mood and decided to subject poor Dick Grayson to a bit more "torture." So now, let's twist the knife once more, for old time's sake shall we?


End file.
